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THE  UNIVERSITY 
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LIBRARY 


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11148-S 


THE  SUNDAY  PROBLEM 


ITS  PRESENT  DAY  ASPECTS 

PHYSIOLOGICAL,  INDUSTRIAL,  SOCIAL,  POLITICAL, 
AND  RELIGIOUS 


Papers  Presented  at  the  International  Congress  on 
Sunday  Rest,  Chicago,  Sept.  28-30,  1893. 


BOSTON 

JAMES  H.  EARLE,  PUBLISHER 

178  Washington  Street 

1894 


NOTE. 

This  volume  is  compiled  and  published  under  the  direction 
of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  International  Congress 
on  Sunday  Rest,  consisting  of  Rev.  W.  W.  Atterbury, 
S.  B.  Lingle,  Sawtell  Prentice,  Franklin  MacVeagh, 
Martin  W.  Kelly,  Rev.  John  P.  Hale,  Otis  McG.  Howard. 


Copyright,  1894, 

By  James  H.  Earle,  Boston. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


2&  3.4- 

Jn^ls 

C CryO  l 


Cr|0 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


INTRODUCTION 9 

PHYSIOLOGICAL  RELATIONS 19 

i.  The  Physiological  Basis  of  Sunday  Rest. 

(1)  Samuel  B.  Lyon,  M.D.,  Superintendent  of  Blooming- 

dale  Asylum , New  York  . 21 

(2)  N.  S.  Davis,  M.D.,  Chicago 36 

INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS 41 

11.  Economic  and  Ethical  Value  of  Sunday  Rest. 

Geo.  E.  McNeill 43 

hi.  Sunday  Rest  in  the  Oil  Industries. 

W.  J.  Young,  Vice-President  Forest  Oil  Company  ...  50 

iv.  Sunday  Rest  in  Mining. 

Thomas  Weir,  Suftt  of  Mines,  Monte  Cristo,  Wash.  . . 55 

v.  Sunday  Railway  Traffic. 

(1)  E,  C.  Beach,  Agent  Union  Line , Pennsylvania  R.  R.  Co,  63 

(2)  S.  M.  Prevost,  General  Manager  Pennsylvania  R.  R.  75 


(3)  John  M.Toucey,  General  Manager  New  York  Central 


6°  Hudson  River  R.  R 77 

(4)  J.  T.  Odell,  General  Manager  Baltimore  6°  Ohio  R.  R.  78 

(5)  W.  F.  Halstead,  General  Manager  Delaware , Lacka- 

wanna, and  W.  R.  R 79 

(6)  Joseph  Wood,  General  Manager  Penn,  Lines  West  of 

Pittsburg 79 

(7)  J.  Q.  Van  Winkle,  C.  C.  C.  6*  5/.  L.  R.  R 81 

(8)  James  Hill,  Assistant  General  Manager  Vandalia 

Line 82 

(9)  Chas.  M.  Hays,  General  Manager  Wabash  R.  R.  . . 83 

(10)  S.  W.  Sullivan,  General  Superintendent  Illinois  Cen- 

tral R.  R 84 

(11)  J.  M.  Whitman,  General  Manager  Chicago  and  North- 

western R.  R 86 

(12)  G.  Campbell,  General  Superintendent  Wisconsin  Cen- 

tral Lines 

3 

703411 


87 


4 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


v.  Sunday  Railway  Traffic  ( continued ). 

(13)  A.  L.  Mohler,  Great  Northern  R.  R 89 

(14)  C.  H.  Chappell,  General  Manager  Chicago  &>  Alton 

R.  R 90 

(15)  C.  H.  Hudson,  General  Manager  East  Tenn .,  Va .,  6° 

Ga.  R.  R.  . . ' 90 

(16)  Epes  Randolph,  General  Superintendent  Newport 

News  6°  Miss . Valley  6°  Ohio  R.  R 92 

(17)  C..  H.  Platt,  General  Manager  N.  V.,  N.  H .,  &>  H.  R.  R.  92 

(18)  Payson  Tucker,  General  Manager  Maine  Ce?itraC 

RR 93 

(19)  F.  W.  Baldwin,  General  Superintendent  Central  Ver- 

mont R.  R 93 

(20)  L.  J.  Seargeant,  General  Manager  Grand  Trunk 

R.  R 94 

(21)  E.  N.  Brown,  General  Superintendent  T amino  De 

Fierro  Nacional  Mexicano  R.  R 94 

(22)  L.  S.  Coffin,  Brotherhood  of  Railway  Trainmen  . . 95 

(23)  J.  Weatherbee,  Grand  Secretary  Order  of  Railway 

Telegraphers 102 

vi.  Sunday  in  the  Industries  of  France. 

Ed  Baumgartner,  Rouen,  France 105 


vii.  Sunday  in  Metal  and  Glass  Works  and  Mines 
of  France. 

A.  Gibon,  late  Director  of  the  Metallurgic  Works  of  Com- 


mentry  ( Allier),  Paris,  France 115 

SOCIAL  RELATIONS 127 

viii.  Effects  upon  Character  and  Habits. 

Rev.  O.  Prunier,  Secretary  of  the  Societe  Fran^aise  pour 
V observation  du  Dimanche , Paris,  France 129 


ix.  Sunday  Rest  for  Women  and  Children  in  Fac- 
tories, Stores,  and  Domestic  Service. 

Alice  L.  Woodbridge,  Secretary  Working  women’s  Society, 


New  York 138 

x.  Address. 

By  Mrs.  Florence  Kelly,  State  Inspector  of  Factories , 
Chicago,  111 153 

xi.  Address. 

By  Miss  Jane  Addams,  Hull  House,  Chicago  . f ...  156 

xii.  Relation  of  Sunday  Rest  to  the  Home  and 
to  Family  Life. 

Mrs.  J.  H.  Knowles  158 


CONTENTS . 


5 


PAGE 

POLITICAL  RELATIONS 169 

xiii.  Should  Sunday  Rest  be  maintained  by  Legis- 

lation ? The  Ground  and  Limitations  of 
Such  Interference. 

(1)  William  Allen  Butler,  LL.D 171 

(2)  Address,  Henry  Wade  Rogers,  President  North- 

western University 208 

xiv.  Sunday  in  the  Public  Service. 

Major-General  O.  O.  Howard,  U.  S.  Army 21 1 

xv.  Sunday  in  the  Postal  Service. 

Hon.  John  Wanamaker 222 

RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS 227 

xvi.  Sunday  Observance  in  its  Relation  to  the 

Spiritual  Life. 

Rev.  J.  W.  A.  Stewart,  D.D 229 

xvii.  Place  of  Sunday  Observance  in  Christianity. 

(1)  Cardinal  Gibbons 240 

(2)  Pastoral  Letter  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  248 

(3)  Professor  A.  Spaeth,  D.D.,  Lutheran  Theological 

Seminary 252 

(4)  Rev.  W.  W.  Atterbury,  D.D.,  Secretary  New  York 

Sabbath  Committee 255 

xviii.  The  Sabbath  in  Judaism. 

Rabbi  Dr.  B.  Felsenthal 266 

MISCELLANEOUS 2 77 

xix.  Dangers  which  threaten  the  Rest  Day. 

Rev.  Wm.  R.  Huntington,  D.D.,  Rector  Grace  Church , 

New  York 279 

xx.  Recent  Progress  in  securing  Sunday  Rest  on 

the  Continent  of  Europe. 

E.  Deluz,  Secretary  of  the  International  Federation  for 
Sunday  Observance , Geneva,  Switzerland  . . . . ' . . 289 

xxi.  Present  Aspects  of  the  Sunday  Question  in 

Great  Britain. 

C.  Hill,  Secretary  Workingmen1  s Lord's  Day  Rest  Associa- 
tion, London,  Eng 302 

xxii.  What  is  Sunday  Worth  ? 

Joseph  Cook,  LL.D 308 

xxiii.  Sunday  for  All. 

Archbishop  Ireland 31 1 

APPENDIX 319 

INDEX 329 


INTRODUCTION. 


One  of  the  most  important  features  of  the  Colum- 
bian Exposition  at  Chicago  was  the  series  of  con- 
gresses held  in  connection  with  it,  under  the  general 
supervision  of  the  “ World’s  Congress  Auxiliary.” 
Its  motto  was,  “ Not  Things,  but  Men.”  Its  object 
was  to  present  the  great  moral,  social,  and  scien- 
tific achievements  of  our  age,  and  to  give  new  im- 
pulse to  all  efforts  for  the  well-being  of  man,  by 
bringing  together  wise  and  earnest  men  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  for  the  interchange  of  thought 
and  knowledge. 

Among  these  conferences,  it  was  fitting  that  an 
International  Congress  on  Sunday  rest  should  find  a 
prominent  place.  For  the  weekly  rest  is  intimately 
connected  with  the  welfare  of  man  and  society,  with 
the  problems  of  productive  industry  and  of  political 
liberty,  while  as  a religious  institution  it  has  still 
higher  relations  and  uses. 

The  idea  of  such  a congress  originated  in  Europe. 
In  the  great  industries  of  France,  Germany,  and 
other  Continental  states,  a large  proportion  of  the 
working-people  have  been  for  years  under  the  bond- 
age of  uninterrupted  toil.  Thirty  years  ago  there 
was  started  in  Geneva,  Switzerland,  a movement  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  working-classes  in 
this  respect,  and  at  the  same  time  to  rescue  from 
the  neglect  into  which  it  had  fallen  the  religious 
observance  of  Sunday.  The  leader  of  this  move- 
ment was  Alexander  Lombard,  a banker  of  Geneva, 

9 


IO 


IN  TROD  UCTION. 


whose  name  should  be  held  in  lasting  honor  by  all 
who  are  interested  in  the  welfare  of  their  fellow-men. 

The  movement  extended  to  the  other  countries  of 
Europe.  The  Social-Democrats  of  Germany,  at  the 
reorganization  of  their  party  at  Gotha  in  1875,  made 
it  one  of  the  articles  of  their  programme  that  the 
right  to  rest  on  Sunday  should  be  assured  by  the 
State.1  Petitions  in  favor  of  laws  to  restrict  Sunday 
work  were  presented  to  the  German  Parliament  ; and 
it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  these  were  advocated 
alike  by  the  leading  representative  of  Roman  Ca- 
tholicism and  by  prominent  Jewish  deputies.  An 
official  inquiry  instituted  by  the  German  government 
as  to  the  extent  of  Sunday  labor  and  its  social  and 
economic  effects,  showed  that  more  than  one-half  of 
the  manufacturing  establishments  worked  on  Sun- 
day,’ and  in  trade  and  transportation  seventy-seven 
per  cent  of  the  labor  was  continued  seven  days  in  the 
week. 

In  France  the  “ Workingmen’s  Party  ” made  the 
legal  prohibition  of  more  than  six  days’  labor  a week 
the  first  article  of  its  economic  programme.2  Louis 
Blanc,  in  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies,  in  1880, 
in  advocating  Sunday  rest,  said  : — 

“ The  weekly  rest  has  been  consecrated  by  all  religions,  and 
nowhere  is  it  more  strictly  observed  than  among  Protestant 
peoples  who  are  laboring  peoples.  The  diminution  of  the  hours 
of  labor  does  not  involve  any  diminution  of  production.  In 
England  a workman  produces  in  fifty-six  hours  as  much  as  a 
French  workman  in  seventy-two  hours,  because  his  forces  are 
better  husbanded.  No  pains  should  be  spared  to  make  man 
more  enlightened,  better,  and  stronger.  It  is  this  which  con- 
stitutes true  progress.” 

An  effective  crusade  in  favor  of  Sunday  observ- 
ance among  the  Roman  Catholic  dioceses  of  France 
was  organized  by  Count  Cissey,  .under  the  special 
authorization  of  Pope  Pius  IX. 

} Mehring’s  Deutsche  Social-demokratie,  Bremen,  1877,  p.  228. 

2 Paris  letter  of  Theodore  Child  in  New  York  Sun , Oct.  19,  1881. 


INTROD  UCTION. 


1 1 


In  1876,  at  the  invitation  of  the  friends  of  Sun- 
day rest  in  Switzerland,  an  International  Congress 
on  this  subject  was  convened  in  Geneva.  It  was  a 
large  and  influential  gathering.  His  Majesty,  Wil- 
liam I.,  of  Germany,  who  felt  a deep  interest  in  the 
cause,  was  represented  in  the  Congress  by  his  am- 
bassador to  Switzerland.  Delegates  from  the  lead- 
ing railway  companies  of  Europe,  from  chambers  of 
commerce,  and  philanthropic  and  labor  societies  took 
part  in  its  deliberations.  This  congress  led  to  the 
organization  of  “ The  International  Federation  for 
Sunday  Observance,”  and  gave  new  impulse  to  the 
cause. 

In  1879  a second  International  Congress  was  held 
at  Berne.  Here  again  the  venerable  German  em- 
peror, William  I.,  was  represented  by  a special  dele- 
gate, and  official  representatives  of  several  of  the 
governments  of  Europe  sat  in  the  congress. 

In  connection  with  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889,  a 
still  more  important  congress  on  Sunday  rest  was 
held,  under  the  authorization  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment. Its  attention  was  confined  to  the  hygienic, 
industrial,  and  social  aspects  of  the  question.  An 
eminent  citizen  of  P"rance,  M.  Leon  Say,  member  of 
the  Institute,  and  member  of  the  French  Parliament, 
presided.  Prominent  men  of  Europe  and  America 
consented  to  act  as  honorary  members.  Among 
these  were  Mr.  Gladstone,  Ex-President  Cleveland, 
and  Benjamin  Harrison,  then  President  of  the  United 
States,  who  was  made  honorary  president  of  the 
congress.  Publicists  and  philanthropists,  leaders  of 
trade  and  industry,  representing  different  classes  and 
faiths,  took  part  in  its  proceedings.  The  proceed- 
ings of  the  congress  were  published  by  the  French 
Government,  and  were  reprinted,  with  an  English 
translation,  as  an  official  document,  by  the  British 
Parliament.  Out  of  this  congress  grew  “ The 
French  Popular  League  for  Sunday  Rest,,,  with 
M.  Leon  Say  as  president  and  the  distinguished 


12 


IN  TROD  UCTION. 


French  senator  and  publicist,  Jules  Simon,  as  honor- 
ary president. 

In  1890  the  present  German  emperor,  William  II., 
who,  like  his  imperial  grandfather,  has  taken  a deep 
interest  in  questions  affecting  the  interests  of  the 
industrial  classes,  convened  a labor  conference  at 
Berlin,  which  was  attended  by  representatives  of 
twelve  of  the  states  of  Europe.  The  Sunday  rest 
was  chief  among  the  subjects  considered  by  this 
conference. 

Under  such  influences,  the  subject  of  Sunday  rest 
engaged  increasing  attention.  The  example  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  was  adduced  as  sup- 
plying arguments  and  encouragement.  The  impor- 
tant results  which  have  already  been  achieved  by 
this  movement  are  given  in  detail  in  an  interesting 
paper  in  this  volume.1 

Meanwhile,  there  were  evidences  of  new  interest 
in  the  question  in  America.  The  Sunday  observ- 
ance, maintained  from  the  beginning  of  our  history 
by  the  customs  and  convictions  of  the  people  as  well 
as  by  the  laws  of  the  land,  had  been  gradually  yield- 
ing to  the  changing  conditions  of  our  civilization,  the 
eager  pursuit  of  wealth,  with  its  intense  and  selfish 
competition,  and  the  rapid  infusion  of  the  foreign 
element  into  our  population,  until  the  proportion 
of  persons  working  under  some  or  other  plea  of 
necessity  for  seven  days  in  the  week  had  become 
ominously  large.  This  tendency  arrested  the  atten- 
tion both  of  Christian  philanthropists  and  of  the 
more  intelligent  wage-earners,  and  numerous  asso- 
ciations were  formed  for  the  better  protection  of  the 
rest-day. 

The  Paris  Congress  had  voted  in  favor  of  another 
similar  congress  at  some  future  time,  referring  to 
it  certain  aspects  of  the  question  which  it  had  been 
unable  adequately' to  treat. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  when  announcement  was 
1 See  page  289. 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


made  of  the  Columbian  Exposition  to  be  held  at  Chi- 
cago, it  was  suggested  by  the  friends  of  the  cause  in 
Europe  that  an  International  Congress  on  Sunday 
Rest  should  be  called  in  connection  with  it.  The 
hope  was  expressed  at  the  same  time  that,  while  it 
was  understood  that  in  America  the  religious  aspects 
of  the  subject  would  not  and  should  not  be  excluded 
from  consideration,  as  was  the  case  at  Paris,  the  con- 
gress would  yet  be  conducted  on  so  broad  and  liberal 
a basis  as  to  welcome  the  co-operation  of  all,  of  what- 
ever faith,  who  sought  to  promote  the  weekly  rest. 
The  suggestion  was  cordially  accepted.  Sunday 
rest,  which  might  have  been  treated  under  other 
heads,  was  made  a distinct  department,  so  that  all 
its  relations  could  be  discussed  together  and  on  the 
broadest  grounds. 

The  preliminary  arrangements  were  intrusted  to 
a Committee  widely  representative  in  character.  An 
Advisory  Council  was  appointed,  composed  of  promi- 
nent men  in  Europe  and  America,  interested  in  the 
cause.  A carefully  studied  programme  was  adopted, 
and  efforts  were  made  to  secure  competent  writers 
on  the  several  topics  to  be  discussed.  The  great 
number  of  congresses  on  all  subjects  called  to  meet 
in  Chicago  during  the  months  of  the  Exposition, 
necessarily  prevented  some  from  contributing  to  the 
Sunday  rest  discussion  who  would  gladly  have  done 
so  had  it  not  been  for  other  engagements  ; and  the 
same  reason  diminished  the  attendance  of  delegates, 
who  were  unable  to  repeat  their  visits  to  Chicago. 

When  the  congress  convened,  after  the  divine 
blessing  had  been  invoked  by  the  venerable  Dr. 
Robert  W.  Patterson,  the  oldest  Protestant  minis- 
ter of  Chicago,  an  address  of  welcome  was  made  by 
Mr.  Bonney,  president  of  the  Columbian  Congress 
Auxiliary.  He  clearly  presented  the  importance  of 
the  movement  as  one  which  does  not  rest  on  a mere 
sentimental  theory,  but  has  for  its  aim  and  object 
the  abolition  of  a vast  and  oppressive  system  of 


INTRO  D UCTION 


14 

human  slavery.  He  showed  that  it  is  a movement 
in  the  interests  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  the 
equitable  distribution  of  the  opportunities  and  fruits 
of  labor. 

He  then  yielded  the  floor  to  the  chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  Arrangements,  who  recounted  the 
steps  which  had  led  to  the  calling  of  the  congress, 
and  called  attention  to  the  broad  and  catholic  spirit 
in  which  the  congress  was  to  be  conducted. 

The  chair  was  then  taken  by  the  president,  Major- 
General  O.  O.  Howard  of  the  United  States  Army, 
from  whose  right  shoulder  hung  an  empty  sleeve, 
bearing  pathetic  witness  to  the  part  he  had  borne  in 
the  late  civil  war.  In  a brief  address  he  expressed 
his  warm  sympathy  with  the  objects  of  the  congress, 
and  his  pleasure  in  taking  part  in  its  deliberations. 
The  president  was  assisted  by  eminent  vice-presi- 
dents, each  of  whom  occupied  the  chair  at  some 
subsequent  sessions.1 

Letters  were  read  from  various  associations  for 
Sunday  observance  in  the  United  States,  Canada, 
and  Europe,  announcing  the  appointment  of  dele- 
gates, and  making  report  of  their  work. 

M.  Leon  Say,  president  of  the  Paris  Congress,  and 
now  of  the  French  Popular  League,  wrote  that,  as 
America  in  sending  delegates  to  the  Paris  Congress 
of  1889  had  expressed  the  community  of  interest 
which  united  the  friends  of  the  Sunday  rest  all  over 
the  world,  it  was  with  the  same  sentiments  that  the 
French  Society  delegated  one  of  its  members  to  bear 
to  the  congress  the  sincerest  wishes  that  good  re- 
sults might  flow  from  its  discussions  to  the  cause  of 
humanity  everywhere.  M.  Henri  de  Vilmorin,  the 
French  delegate,  was  introduced  by  the  president,  and 
in  a graceful  and  earnest  address  gave  an  account 
of  the  very  encouraging  work  which  is  being  done  in 
France  in  promoting  Sunday  rest. 

A communication  from  Count  Bernstorff  of  Berlin, 

1 P'or  the  list  of  the  officers  of  the  congress,  see  Appendix. 


IN  TROD  UCTION. 


IS 


delegate  from  Germany,  expressed  his  regret  that, 
having  been  suddenly  called  home  from  Chicago  by 
a death  in  his  family,  he  could  only  thus  briefly  con- 
vey to  the  congress  the  sympathy  and  interest  of 
the  German  friends  of  Sunday  rest. 

The  Netherlands  Sunday  Rest  Association,  in  a 
letter  from  its  president,  M.  Repelaer  Van  Driel, 
announced  the  appointment  of  M.  George  Brikoff, 
the  Consul  at  Chicago  of  the  Netherlands,  as  its  del- 
egate. At  his  request,  the  Rev.  P.  Mayerdike,  D.D., 
appeared  for  him,  and  read  the  report  of  the  Nether- 
lands Society. 

A communication  was  read  from  the  Royal  Consul 
of  Italy  at  Chicago,  announcing  that,  at  the  request 
of  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Signor  Giovanni 
Florenzans  had  been  appointed  to  attend  the  con- 
gress. In  his  absence,  Cavaliere  Matteo  Prochet, 
D.D.,  of  Rome,  made  an  interesting  address  with 
reference  to  the  cause  of  Sunday  in  that  country. 

The  International  Federation  for  Sunday  Observ- 
ance had  taken  a deep  interest  in  the  congress  ; and 
its  secretary,  M.  Deluz,  did  much  to  promote  its  suc- 
cess, besides  preparing  for  it  a very  able  report,  of 
which  as  much  is  printed  in  the  following  pages  as 
space  will  permit.  The  delegates  appointed  to  rep- 
resent the  Federation  felt  obliged  to  leave  Chicago 
before  the  opening  of  the  congress. 

It  was  regretted  that  no  delegates  were  present  to 
represent  Great  Britain.  British  sympathy  and  in- 
terest in  the  cause  were,  however,  significantly  ex- 
pressed by  the  many  eminent  names  which  appear 
on  the  list  of  the  Advisory  Council.  To  Mr.  Charles 
Hill,  secretary  of  the  Workingmen’s  Lord’s  Day 
Rest  Association,  thanks  are  due  for  untiring  efforts 
to  promote  the  success  of  the  congress,  as  well  as  for 
his  able  report,  extracts  from  which  are  printed  in 
the  following  pages. 

The  Lord’s  Day  Observance  Society  of  London, 
by  its  late  secretary,  the  Rev.  John  Gritton,  D.D., 


1 6 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


rendered  important  service  in  the  preparations  for 
the  congress.  The  Glasgow  Workingmen’s  Sabbath 
Rest  Association  sent  a brief  report  of  its  work. 
The  Canada  Lord’s  Day  Alliance,  besides  a communi- 
cation through  its  secretary,  the  Rev.  W.  D.  Arm- 
strong, Ph.D.,  was  represented  by  the  Hon.  John 
Charlton,  M.R,  who  assisted  as  one  of  the  vice-pres- 
idents of  the  congress. 

The  special  relations  of  the  Sunday  rest  to  wage- 
earners  of  all  classes  naturally  occupied  a prominent 
place  on  the  programme  of  the  congress.  Assur- 
ances of  warm  interest  in  the  objects  of  the  congress 
were  received  from  prominent  representatives  of  the 
labor  organizations  of  this  country.  Mr.  Samuel 
Gompers,  president  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor,  who  was  finally  prevented  from  attending, 
wrote : “ I am  in  entire  accord  with  the  purposes  of 
the  congress,  and  am  pleased  to  learn  that  a number 
of  men,  leaders  of  thought  in  the  civilized  world,  have 
promised  their  co-operation  and  participation  in  the 
congress  for  the  advocacy  of  Sunday  rest.  ...  I 
accept  your  invitation  to  attend.  If  I can  be  of  some 
assistance  to  the  congress,  it  will  give  me  pleasure 
to  do  so.”  The  Labor  Congress,  which  was  held 
some  weeks  before  that  on  Sunday  rest,  had  drawn 
together  many  representatives  of  labor  who  found  it 
impossible  to  come  again  to  Chicago.  The  condi- 
tions of  trade,  moreover,  were  such  as  to  prevent  the 
attendance  of  many  who  would  gladly  have  been 
present. 

An  important  feature  of  all  the  departments  of 
the  Exposition  was  the  part  taken  by  women.  How 
well  they  were  represented  in  this  congress,  the  con- 
tents of  this  volume  show.  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Henro- 
tin,  who,  as  vice-president  of  the  Woman’s  Branch 
of  the  Auxiliary,  had  contributed  largely  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Exposition  in  several  of  its  departments, 
presided  at  one  of  the  sessions  of  the  congress. 

In  no  way  was  the  characteristic  breadth  and  lib- 


IN  TROD  UCTION. 


17 


erality  of  the  congress  shown  more  strikingly  than 
in  its  treatment  of  the  relation  of  the  Sunday  rest 
to  religion.  The  paramount  importance  of  this  rela- 
tion was  recognized.  As  the  different  branches  of 
the  Christian  church  may  be  supposed  to  differ  some- 
what in  their  views  upon  the  religious  observance  of 
the  weekly  rest,  this  topic  was  treated  by  represen- 
tatives of  different  denominations.  In  view  of  the 
important  place  which  the  Sabbath  has  always  held 
in  the  religious  and  social  life  of  the  Hebrew  people, 
and  of  the  relation  to  it  of  the  Christian  Rest  Day,  a 
distinguished  Jewish  rabbi  was  heard  with  interest  in 
a paper  on  “ The  Sabbath  in  Judaism.” 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  limits  of 
this  volume  compel  the  abbreviation  of  some  of  the 
papers  herein  printed  and  the  entire  omission  of 
the  reports  presented  from  associations  in  this 
country.  Among  the  latter  is  a valuable  history  of 
the  movement  for  Sunday  observance  in  America  for 
the  past  half-century,  by  George  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  presi- 
dent of  the  American  Sabbath  Union. 

Interesting  and  able  addresses  were  delivered  dur- 
ing the  sessions  of  the  congress  by  the  presiding 
officers  ; by  Dr.  Arthur  Little  of  Boston  ; by  pastors 
Henson,  Heilman,  Bristol,  and  Goodwin  of  Chicago, 
and  others.  Want  of  space  prevents  a report  of 
these. 

It  should  be  added  that  each  writer  or  speaker  was 
at  liberty  to  utter  frankly  his  views,  and  for  these 
each  was  alone  responsible. 

The  last  address  was  by  one  of  the  vice-presidents, 
Archbishop  Ireland  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
who  then,  at  the  request  of  the  presiding  officer, 
General  Howard,  closed  the  sessions  of  the  congress 
with  prayer  for  the  divine  blessing. 

Among  the  results  ‘which  it  is  hoped  will  follow 
from  the  congress,  and  from  the  publication  of  these 
papers,  may  be  mentioned  : — 


i8 


IN  TROD  UCTION 


1.  A more  general  and  intelligent  appreciation 
of  the  Sunday  rest  and  of  the  duty  of  protecting  it 
by  wise  and  just  laws  : 

2.  A wider  co-operation  of  Roman  Catholics  and 
Protestants  in  maintaining  the  Sunday  rest : 

3.  A fuller  recognition  on  the  part  of  wage- 
earners  of  the  efforts  which  Christian  men  and  phi- 
lanthropists are  making  to  secure  to  them,  as  far  as 
practicable,  their  right  to  the  Sunday  rest  : 

4.  A better  understanding  of  the  peril  to  the 
weekly  rest  from  such  use  of  it  on  the  part  of 
wage-earners  as  robs  others  of  their  equal  right  to 
its  benefit : 

5.  The  manifested  agreement  of  Christians  of 
different  denominations  as  to  the  divine  authority 
of  the  institution,  and  the  duty  of  so  using  it  as  to 
promote  the  spiritual  as  well  as  the  physical  well- 
being of  man  and  society. 


W.  W.  A. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  RELATIONS. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS  OF  THE  SUNDAY  REST. 
Samuel  B.  Lyon,  Medical  Superintendent,  Bloomingdale  Asy- 
lum for  the  Insane,  New  York  ; N.  S.  Davis,  M.D.,  Chicago,  111. 


J 

PHYSIOLOGICAL  RELATIONS. 


THE  PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS  OF  SUNDAY  REST. 
SAMUEL  B.  LYON,  M.D. 

IT  is  eminently  proper  that  the  great  question  of  a 
periodical  rest  from  all  toil,  both  mental  and  phys- 
ical, should  be  approached  from  a medical,  as  well  as 
from  a moral  or  social,  standpoint,  for  without  health 
no  man  can  properly  fulfil  his  purpose  in  life,  or  can 
discharge  his  duties  to  himself  and  to  his  fellow-men 
as  we  believe  that  he  was  intended  to  discharge  them 
by  his  Great  Designer. 

The  professional  man  ought  at  all  times  to  be  the 
good  citizen  as  well.  He  should  view  the  great  public 
questions  of  the  day  not  only  from  the  stand-point  of 
his  art,  but  should  also  see  them  in  the  light  of  his  duty 
as  a factor  in  the  general  prosperity.  The  doctor  and 
the  priest  are  £oth  charged  with  the  duty  of  restrain- 
ing man  in  his  harmful  tendencies,  physical  and  moral, 
and  of  making  him  a healthier,  and  consequently  a 
more  useful  member  of  the  community.  Overflowing 
vitality  may  lead  to  occasional  sins  of  excess,  and  the 
ascetics  have  tried  to  suppress  their  humanity  by 
lowering  their  vitality,  and  mortifying  their  flesh  ; 
but  we  are  forced  to  believe  that  the  evils  of  exuber- 


21 


22 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


ant  life,  bad  as  they  may  be,  are  not  a tithe  of  those 
of  a depressed  vitality,  which  seeks  forgetfulness  in 
mental  and  moral  oblivion. 

Medicine  is  ceasing,  to  a large  extent,  to  be  merely 
an  empirical  art,  and  is  becoming  more  and  more  a 
precise  science,  based  on  a growing  knowledge  of 
cause  and  effect  in  relation  to  disease.  The  recent 
discovery  of  the  micro-organism  as  the  potent  cause, 
or  as  the  associate  of  pathological  conditions,  is 
a grand  advance,  and  marks  an  epoch  in  medical 
science.  It  has  enlisted  many  eager  investigators 
in  this  new  field  of  discovery;  and  it  seems  not  im- 
probable that  the  extent  and  limits  of  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  disease  germs  for  pathological  conditions 
may  be  eventually  known,  and  being  known,  may  be 
counteracted  by  the  application  of  wise  methods 
directed  to  their  elimination. 

The  causes  of  diseases  being  known,  a clew  is  fur- 
nished, not  only  to  the  treatment  of  maladies  of  this 
class,  but  also  as  to  the  means  of  their  prevention, 
and  thus  Preventive  Medicine  assumes  a position  of 
the  utmost  importance.  Throughout  all  the  civilized 
world  the  best  medical  thought  is  now  directed 
toward  shielding  all  forms  of  beneficent  life  from 
their  enemies.  Micro-organisms  are  waging  war  not 
only  against  man  and  animals,  but  also  against  the 
plants  useful  to  man.  The  animals  which  contribute 
to  the  life  or  comfort  of  humanity  are,  like  man,  sur- 
rounded by  enemies,  too  minute  for  ordinary  detec- 
tion, but  potent  for  harm.  Man  himself  seems  not 
only  to  be  surrounded,  but  to  be  constantly  inhabited 
by  myriads  of  organisms,  which,  unless  kept  in  sub- 
jection, possess  themselves  of  their  host,  to  his 
destruction. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS. 


23 


While  quarantines  and  boards  of  health  may  per- 
haps bar  out  the  great  invading  armies  of  cholera 
or  typhus  germs,  they  never  can  entirely  protect  us 
from  the  other  forms  of  injurious  microscopic  life, 
which  always  surround  and  inhabit  us,  not  always 
working  ayr  destruction,  but  always  waiting  for  our 
moment  of  vulnerability  to  do  so  ; and  the  part  of 
wisdom  is  to  make  all  these  enemies  of  man  as  little 
hurtful  as  may  be. 

It  may  be  asked,  “ What  bearing  has  the  theory  of 
germ  diseases  on  the  observance  of  Sunday  ?”  One 
theory  of  preventive  medicine  is  that  immunity  from 
germ  disease  is  enjoyed  largely  in  proportion  to  the 
vigor  of  the  individual.  The  vigor  of  man  is  depend- 
ent upon  his  enjoying  hygienic  conditions  of  life, 
among  which  periodic  rest  is  most  important.  We 
increase  a man's  power  of  resistance  to  the  inroads 
of  disease  by  feeding  him  well,  by  giving  him  plenty 
of  pure  air,  by  providing  him  sufficient  all  around  ex- 
ercise, in  fact,  by  giving  him  his  proper  share  of  the 
blessings  which  Providence  intends  for  all  alike. 
The  man  who  is  exhausted  by  overwork,  who  is  de- 
pressed by  anxiety,  or  who  is  poisoned  by  bad  air, 
falls  the  readiest  victim  to  every  form  of  moral  or 
physical  evil  influence.  When  the  disease  germs 
find  an  overflowing  vitality  opposed  to  their  attack 
they  cease  to  flourish.  They  thrive  best  in  a soil 
prepared  for  them  by  a previous  lowering  of  the 
vital  forces.  As  the  plant  does  not  take  from  the 
soil  other  vital  elements,  but  rather  subsists  on 
the  products  of  previous  destruction,  so  disease 
thrives  best  on  the  products  of  disorganization  and 
partial  decay,  due  to  impaired  vitality  in  the  human 
body. 


24 


SUNDAY  REST. 


It  has  been  said  that  “ there  is  more  joy  in  heaven 
over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  than  over  ninety  and 
nine  just  persons  who  need  no  repentance.”  In  pre- 
ventive medicine  the  contrary  is  true.  There  is 
more  joy  over  the  eversion  of  disease  from  ninety 
and  nine  well  men  by  the  enforcement  of  proper  san- 
itary rules,  than  there  is  over  the  recovery  of  one 
unfortunate  whose  illness  is  the  penalty  of  their 
violation. 

The  functions  of  preventive  medicine  are  not 
however  restricted  to  combating  and  forestalling 
zymotic  diseases,  to  nullifying  the  effects  for  ill  up- 
on the  human  body  which  is  discovered  to  be  pro- 
duced by  demonstrable  entities.  It  has  a much 
broader  and  more  noble  field  of  labor  and  good  than 
these  alone,  important  as  they  are.  Its  duty  is  not 
only  to  restore  mankind  to  health,  but  to  keep  them 
well,  and  thus  to  increase  their  power  for  work,  and 
their  capacity  for  enjoyment.  By  exercising  a watch- 
ful and  shielding  care  over  the  public  health,  the 
devotees  of  sanitary  science  directly  increase  the  sum 
total  of  good  in  the  world. 

And  we  have  good  and  sufficient  authorities  for 
our  belief  in  the  hygienic  value  of  that  periodical 
rest  and  recreation,  which  breaks  the  wearing  monot- 
ony of  ceaseless  toil,  and  which  gives  the  system  a 
chance  to  recover  itself.  If  I take  the  liberty  of 
quoting  somewhat  freely  from  authors  who  have  writ- 
ten on  the  subject  of  the  Sunday  rest,  it  is  partly 
because  they  have  not  been  translated  to  any  extent, 
I believe. 

A long  array  of  physicians  have  dwelt  upon  the 
vicious  effects  of  unremitted  labor  where  nature  is 
sinned  against,  and  man  is  ground  between  the  upper 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS. 


25 


and  the  nether  mill-stones  ; where  constant  toil  amid 
unwholesome  aliments  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
seamy  side  of  life  generally  on  the  other,  grind  the 
grist  so  fine  that  it  is  doubtful  if  life  is  a beneficent 
gift  from  the  Almighty,  but  if  it  is  not  rather  a 
curse,  which  may  be  endured  only  while  some  faint 
illusions  of  hope^  remain.  These  medical  authorities 
agree  that  constant  labor,  varied  only  by  the  often 
brief  nightly  rest,  and  unbroken  by  an  occasional 
day  of  complete  change  and  remission  of  the  accus- 
tomed toil,  robs  men  of  their  elasticity  and  aplomb, 
and  makes  them  incapable  of  throwing  off  cares  and 
troubles,  and  incapacitates  them  from  coming  fresh 
and  vigorous  to  their  several  duties. 

Dr.  Haegler1  calls  attention  to  the  chemical  facts 
of  expenditure  and  repair  in  the  constituents  of  the 
blood,  as  demonstrated  by  Pillerkofer  and  Voit,  who 
showed  that  the  nightly  rest  after  the  day’s  work 
did  not  afford  a complete  recuperation  of  the  vital 
forces,  and  was  insufficient  to  keep  the  mind  and 
body  in  tone ; but  that  if  this  reparation  is  not  sup- 
plemented by  an  occasional  longer  period  of  rest,  the 
system  is  subjected  to  a gradual  falling  in  pitch* 

This  continuous  and  progressive  decline  has  been 
measured  and  pictured  graphically  by  these  investi- 
gators through  instrumental  means,  and  the  resulting 
charts  show  series  of  zigzag  lines  traced  upon  them, 
which  mark  the  limits  of  highest  and  lowest  strength 
and  vigor  of  the  subject,  on  each  day,  for  varying 
periods  of  observation. 

The  observers  alluded  to  found  that  on  each  suc- 
ceeding day  the  wave  of  strength  failed  a little  of 

1 Le  Dimanche  au  point  de  vue  hygienique  et  social.  A.  Haegler, 
doct.  en  med.  Bale,  1879. 


26 


SUNDA  V REST 


reaching  the  height  of  yesterday,  and  that  during  the 
six  days  of  weekly  labor  a sensible  decline  in  power 
was  experienced  by  the  subject,  which  was  depicted 
upon  the  chart.  If  the  subject,  however,  enjoyed  a 
day  of  rest  and  change  after  the  six  days  labor,  he 
then  returned  to  his  work  on  Monday  in  as  good  con- 
dition as  he  had  been  in  on  the  preceding  Monday. 
Thus  from  week  to  week,  with  a day  of  rest  between, 
his  ability  to  work  did  not  show  any  material  decline. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  same  experimental  re- 
searches showed  that  when  the  subject  under  obser- 
vation did  not  rest  on  Sunday,  but  continued  his 
labor  without  intermission,  he  did  not  enter  on  the 
new  week  with  his  normal  standard  of  ability  to  ac- 
complish work,  but  that  his  record  as  shown  on  the 
charts  fell  below  that  of  the  preceding  week,  and 
that  a study  of  the  observations  taken  for  a succes- 
sion of  weeks  of  continuous  labor,  with  no  Sunday 
rest,  demonstrated  that  a progressive  decline  in  po- 
tency had  taken  place  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  series  of  instrumental  observations.  In  other 
words,  the  man  who  takes  a day  of  rest  between  his 
weeks  of  labor  does  not  materially  deteriorate  in  his 
strength,  but  week  by  week  maintains  about  the  same 
average  capacity  for  effort,  and  observes  the  best 
conditions  for  a long  life  of  useful  work.  But  if  the 
man,  on  the  other  hand,  labors  continuously  day  after 
day,  taking  the  usual  nightly  rest,  but  taking  no 
weekly  rest,  he  pursues  a course  of  steady  decline  in 
his  strength,  which  must  eventually  incapacitate  him 
for  mental  or  physical  labor.  It  is  obviously  as 
unwise  to  live  upon  our  capital  of  bodily  strength 
and  nervous  force,  as  it  is  to  consume  money  capital 
in  our  daily  expenses.  The  accumulation  in  each 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS. 


2 7 


case  should  be  carefully  husbanded  as  the  source  of 
revenue,  which  revenue,  and  not  the  capital,  is  to 
support  us,  if  a course  of  life  capable  of  indefinite 
extension  is  to  be  pursued.  There  are  two  ways  in 
which  a man  may  be  submerged  financially.  He  may 
assume  too  great  burdens  for  his  normal  earning 
power  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  hand  his 
capacity  to  earn  may  daily  diminish  through  bad 
habits  and  poor  management.  The  result  is  equally 
deplorable  in  either  case.  The  same  is  true  in  a 
larger  measure  of  overdrafts  upon  our  physical 
powers.  Benevolence  and  charity  may  help  us  to 
bear,  they  cannot  re-imburse,  the  loss  of  health  and 
strength.  Preventive  medicine  declares  that  a man 
must  be  the  husbandman  of  his  own  health,  the  cus- 
todian of  his  own  physical  powers,  the  only  almoner 
of  his  potentialities ; and  that  when  he  wears  himself 
out  with  ceaseless  toil,  when  he  does  not  conserve 
his  own  powers,  he  is  derelict  in  his  duty  to  himself, 
and  robs  society  of  his  effective  service. 

But  alas,  how  can  a man  take  such  prudent  care  of 
himself  when  he  is  driven  by  poverty  or  by  necessity 
to  ceaseless  labor ; when  the  unwise  customs  of  his 
environment  force  him  to  work  week  days  and  Sun- 
days, early  in  the  morning  and  late  at  night,  always 
spending,  never  saving,  the  precious  treasure  of  his 
health  and  life. 

In  a discussion  of  this  subject  at  the  International 
Congress  on  Sunday  Rest,  at  Paris,  in  1889,  Prof. 
Raoul  Allier  called  attention  to  the  laws  of  heredity, 
and  the  sad  consequences  not  only  to  the  sufferer 
from  his  unremitting  labor,  but  the  disastrous  conse- 
quences to  his  descendants,  who  enter  life  handi- 
capped with  defective  powers  and  low  vitality. 


28 


SUNDA  Y REST 


Heredity  is  a large  element  in  disease,  and  the  rela- 
tion of  excessive  and  prolonged  toil  to  transmitted 
mental  and  physical  degeneracy"  is  as  patent  to  medi- 
cine as  to  social  or  moral  investigation  of  the  great 
question  before  us. 

M.  A.  Hoffmann,  pastor  at  Geneva,  said  that  in  an 
inquiry  made  by  the  German  government  in  which  a 
million  and  a half  of  laborers  were  considered,  it  was 
found  “ in  all  the  factories  where  the  workmen,  on 
account  of  the  steam,  smell,  or  other  impurities  of 
the  air,  suffered  in  their  eyes,  their  lungs,  or  their 
respiratory  passages,  etc.,  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  limit  the  days  of  labor  to  six  in  the  week,  in  order 
to  assure  the  workmen  an  interruption  of  the  bad 
hygienic  conditions  to  which  they  are  exposed.” 

M.  L.  Roehrich,  President  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  International  Federation  at  Geneva, 
said  : “ It  is  not  a question  of  simple  pleasure,  it  is  a 
question  of  the  right  to  live,  because  repose  is  neces- 
sary to  life.” 

M.  Hanssen,  pastor  at  Antwerp,  who  has  labored 
among  the  sailors  of  the  port,  says  : “ Among  those 
on  sailing  vessels,  who  generally  rest  Sundays,  it  is 
easy  to  interest  them  in  subjects  outside  of  their 
ordinary  life,  as  the  amusements  and  art  exhibitions, 
which  are  accessible  to  them  ; but  it  is  not  possible 
to  draw  out  of  themselves  and  their  mechanical  con- 
dition of  mind,  the  sailors  on  steamers,  who  have  no 
Sunday  rest.  They  are  like  logs,”  he  says,  “ de- 
prived of  their  forces,  corporal,  moral,  and  spiritual.” 
Further,  he  says  “that  the  sailors  on  steamers  are 
the  ones  who  frequent  the  saloons,  who  become  most 
frequently  the  victims  of  alcoholism.” 

The  first  resolution  adopted  at  the  Paris  Congress, 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS. 


29 


after  an  exhaustive  discussion  on  the  hygienic  view 
of  the  Sunday  Rest,  says,  among  other  things,  that 
“ it  is  a condition  essential  to  the  ability  to  work  and 
to  long  life.,, 

Camille  and  Edouard  Rabaud  say,  in  an  able  essay,1 
which  received  the  prize  offered  by  the  Societe  gene- 
voise  d'  Utilite  publique,  in  regard  to  the  occupations 
which  cause  disease  to  those  employed  in  them  : — 

“ We  may  be  asked,  ‘ Would  it  not  be  better  to 
suppress  these  causes  of  disease,  these  deadly  occu- 
pations ? ’ But  such  suppression  is  not  possible, 
while  rest  from  them  is  perfectly  practicable  ; and  it 
has  a double  action,  first,  to  attenuate  the  morbid 
process,  and  second,  to  give  to  the  organism  the  time 
to  repair  the  damage  inherent  in  the  occupation.  It 
permits  the  elimination  of  fatal  and  deleterious  sub- 
stances absorbed  by  the  organs ; it  prevents  their 
accumulation  to  a poisonous  degree  ; it  compensates 
for  the  insufficient  respiration,  circulation,  etc.,  due 
to  the  sojourn  in  damp  rooms,  bad  air,  exposure  to 
infection,  etc.,  and  for  the  constrained  attitude  in 
which  the  workman  is  sometimes  obliged  to  remain 
during  ten,  twelve,  or  fourteen  hours.” 

These  are  old  truths,  which  it  is  well  to  emphasize 
again,  to  the  end  that  if  we  cannot  change  the  ordi- 
nary occupations  and  surroundings  of  a large  number 
of  our  less  fortunate  fellows,  we  may  at  least  Try  to 
dilute  the  pernicious  conditions,  to  attenuate  the 
poison  they  are  forced  by  necessity  to  partake  ; to 
insist  that  they  be  permitted  to  give  a day  at  certain 
intervals  to  the  breathing  of  pure  air,  to  the  taking 
of  wholesome  exercise,  to  a return  to  normal  posi- 

1 “Le  Repos  Hebdomadaire,”  par  Camille  et  £douar.d  Rabaud, 
Geneve,  1870. 


30 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


tions,  and  to  an  absence  from  the  usual  surroundings, 
to  the  end  that  when  again  forced  into  them,  they 
may  be  to  some  extent  fortified  against  them,  and 
may  bear  with  them  to  their  work  the  consciousness 
that  it  is  not  continuous  and  without  hope  of  release, 
but  intermittent,  and  that  ahead  of  them  looms  up 
the  coming  Sunday,  as  a lighthouse  of  hope  and 
encouragement. 

Professor  Niemeyer,  the  eminent  hygienist,  says  : 
“We  should  treat  properly,  at  all  times  and  without 
partiality,  all  the  organs  ; as  well  those  which  do  not 
manifest  their  needs  by  special  sensations  as  those 
which  do.  It  is  incumbent  on  us  always  to  consider 
that  health  is  the  result  of  multiple  organs  in  harmo- 
nious action.”  1 No  labor  or  exercise  can  be  so  well 
regulated,  so  perfectly  systematized,  that  without 
occasional  complete  remissions  or  change  in  direc- 
tion, by  which  some  organs  rest  and  others  are  used, 
the  proper  harmony  of  action  between  all  the  organs 
of  the  body  is  preserved,  in  such  manner  as  to  give 
them  each  their  proper  relative  activity,  which  the 
eminent  professor  says  is  essential  to  health,  — “the 
harmonious  action  of  multiple  organs,  which  results 
in  health.” 

There  are  no  occupations  in  which  some  portions 
of  the  body  or  mind  are  not  overtaxed,  while  other 
organs,  or  sides  of  the  mind,  lack  their  proper  func- 
tional activity.  A rest,  an  intermission  of  this 
unbalanced  activity,  is  necessary,  to  prevent  the  tem- 
porary and  accidental  lack  of  adjustment  between 
the  organs  from  becoming  permanent,  and  to  allow 
it  to  pass  away,  in  order  that  a normal  condition  of 
functional  action  may  resume  place. 

1 “ Le  Repos  Dominical  au  point  de  vue  hygienique.”  1876.  Berne 
and  Paris. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS 


31 


Niemeyer  again  says  *“  We  see  what  damage  may 
ensue  in  the  professional  activities,  particularly  of 
artisans  and  office  employees,  when  Sunday  repose 
does  not  intervene  to  remedy  this  abuse.’'  To  ex- 
plain and  illustrate  what  might  be  considered  by 
some  a mere  expression  of  individual  opinion,  arrived 
at  perhaps  from  religious  grounds  only,  he  adds 
regarding  the  mechanism, of  life,  the  recognized  med- 
ical truths  concerning  the  wonderful  processes  of 
assimilation,  elimination,  and  nutrition,  which  are 
carried  on  through  the  proper  oxygenation  of  the 
blood;  whereby  used-up  and  deleterious  products  of 
the  chemical  changes  going  on  in  the  body  are  re- 
moved, and  the  blood  is  again  charged  with  its 
oxygen  in  the  lungs,  and  returns  on  its  mission  of 
cleansing  and  purifying  the  body.  He  says,  “ The 
color  of  the  blood,  and  from  this  the  color  of  the 
skin  also,  the  air  of  health  or  suffering,  which  we 
each  one  of  us  present,  and  which  is  remarked  at  the 
first  glance,  is  due  to  the  proper  performance  of  its 
office  by  the  blood.”  But  how  is  the  blood  to  be 
purified  and  regenerated  in  an  atmosphere  exhausted 
of  its  oxygen,  and  contaminated  by  the  dust  or  fumes 
of  various  manufactures,  which  are  necessary  to 
society,  but  injurious  to  the  unfortunates  engaged 
in  them  ? How  can  one  thrive  who  breathes  contin- 
uously an  atmosphere  which  is  contaminated  by  the 
exhalations  of  numerous  people  who  are  similarly 
occupied,  and  who  pursue  their  work  in  crowded  and 
illy  ventilated  shops  ? 

It  is  obvious  that  such  conditions  are  hostile  to 
life,  that  under  such  circumstances  the  color  of  the 
skin  will  not  bear  the  “hue  of  health,”  but  that  we 
shall  see  instead  the  pallor  and  sallow  aspect  only 


32 


SUNDA  V REST. 


too  characteristic  of  the  wholly  or  partially  sub- 
merged; that  instead  of  the  “ buoyancy  and  air  of 
health/’  there  will  be  the  stamp  of  suffering,  become 
habitual  and  hardly  realized. 

His  conclusion  is  that  “the  united  effect  of  all  the 
alterations  in  the  blood  supply,  due  to  bad  surround- 
ings, is  that  the  elasticity  of  all  the  body  is  exhausted, 
and  that  the  vigor  and  the  aptitude  for  work  are 
diminished,  and  the  length  of  life  is  in  general  re- 
duced. It  is  an  old  principle  in  medicine  that  ‘what 
does  not  rest  occasionally  does  not  last  long ; ’ liter- 
ally, ‘ he  who  is  deprived  of  alternate  repose  cannot 
long  endure/  ” 

A.  Eschenauer1  says,  what  is  certainly  true,  “that 
continued  or  excessive  labor,  and  this  in  the  unfavor- 
able surroundings  which  are  too  often  its  environ- 
ment, is  certainly  one  of  the  most  frequent  causes 
of  perturbations  in  the  physical  and  moral  state  of 
man.  It  is  unfortunately  only  too  easy  to  demon- 
strate this  fact.  The  body,  its  senses,  and  its  organs, 
are  the  instruments  of  the  mind.  If  reason,  if  mod- 
eration, do  not  preside  over  their  employment,  the 
equilibrium  is  destroyed,  the  man  suffers,  his  consti- 
tution is  impaired,  his  nervous  force  is  exhausted. 
After  a time,  he  is  not  capable  of  the  same  activity. 
He  has  acquired  a number  of  maladies.  He  has 
accelerated  his  death.”  Again,  contrasting  idleness 
with  protracted  and  unbroken  labor,  quoting  the 
English  proverb,  “ It  is  better  to  wear  out  than  to 
rust  out,”  he  says,  “while  such  toil  is  a hundred 
times  more  respectable  than  idleness,  it  is  none  the 
less  ruinous  to  the  human  constitution,  which  is 


1 Le  Repos  du  Dimanche,  Paris,  1876. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS. 


33 


only  preserved  by  a wise  alternation  of  labor  and 
rest,  which  restores  the  vital  forces.  This  is  true,  it 
is  undoubted,  for  all  th.e  professions,  for  all  ranks  of 
society  ; it  is  most  evident  of  severe  labor,  and  for  the 
classes  so  numerous  and  so  interesting,  whose  ne- 
cessities compel  incessant  toil.”  So  speaks  the 
ancient  pastor  of  Strasburg,  who  draws  his  inspiration 
not  only  from  religion,  but  also  from  science. 

My  quotations,  while  not  wholly  medical,  all  con- 
cern the  bearing  of  Sunday  rest  upon  life,  and  are  in 
the  direction  of  the  several  lines  along  which  each 
one’s  special  work  has  lain.  Each  man  has  a special 
and  individual  point  of  view  of  all  social  questions, 
which  is  influenced  by  his  special  study,  which  brings 
him  nearest,  to  the  subject;  and  in  a body  of  intelli- 
gent observers,  composed,  as  are  these  congresses, 
of  men  from  many  walks  of  life,  we  may  be  said  to 
look  all  around  the  great  question,  each  seeing  a 
little  farther  around  on  his  side  than  his  neighbor, 
and  all  together  getting  a composite  of  the  subject, 
which  gives  it  a solid  entity,  with  appreciable  dimen- 
sions and  a definite  shape.  The  medical  men  have 
each  viewed  it  differently.  The  physiologist  has 
seen  it  on  the  side  of  biological  chemistry,  the 
sanitary  expert  from  its  bearing  on  the  public  health, 
and  the  general  practitioner  from  his  personal  ob- 
servations among  the  victims  of  protracted  labor. 

The  weekly-  rest  also  has  its  bearing  upon  the 
saddest,  I might  say,  of  all  diseases,  insanity. 

Rabaud1  says:  “ Persons  of  nervous  temperament 
who  find  themselves  marvellously  well  in  a calm  and 
sweet  environment,  become,  in  a life  of  agitation,  ex- 

1 “ Le  Repos  Hebdomadaire,”  par  Camille  et  fidouard  Rabaud, 
Geneve,  1870. 


34 


SUNDAY  RES 7: 


cited,  irritated  in  a strange  manner,  if  they  are  not 
driven  into  cerebral  maladies  or  insanity.” 

Thirty  years  ago  Dr.  Ray  wrote  that  “ A very  im- 
portant condition  of  the  highest  state  of  mental 
health  and  vigor  is  that  of  a healthy  and  vigorous 
body.”  “ The  effect  of  bodily  ailment  is  to  embarrass 
the  action  of  the  mind,  to  enfeeble  its  conceptions, 
to  diminish  its  powers  of  application,  and  to  shut  out 
the  blessed  sunshine,  which  never  ceases  entirely  to 
gild  the  prospects  of  the  mortal  who  rejoices  in  the 
buoyant  sensations  of  sound  health.”  “ The  lawyer, 
the  doctor,  the  minister,  the  scholar,  the  merchant, 
the  mechanic,  all  apparently  act  on  the  presumption 
that  their  brains  are  made  of  iron,  which  no  conceiv- 
able amount  of  work  can  weaken  or  damage ; as  a 
consequence  of  such  habits,  it  is  not  strange  that 
every  description  of  mental  infirmity  should  have 
increased  among  us  of  late,  to  an  extent  that  has  no 
parallel  in  former  times.”  If  this  were  true  thirty 
years  ago,  what  must  the  fact  be  now,  when  the 
working  pressure  has  everywhere  increased.  Any- 
thing which  lowers  the  individual’s  vitality  has  long 
been  considered  as  a potent  cause  of  insanity.  The 
sufferers  from  this  disease  are  often  of  naturally 
feeble  constitution,  but  sufficiently  vigorous  to  go  on 
in  a fairly  equable  state  of  mind,  if  the  circumstances 
of  their  lives  are  favorable ; but  with  unfavorable 
surroundings,  with  too  severe  or  protracted  labor,  in 
any  circumstance  or  place  where  their  general  health 
is  impaired,  their  'weak  resistance  is  broken  down, 
and  they  become  the  victims  of  despondency,  perhaps 
ever  after  their  attack  to  remain  incapable  of  self- 
support,  and  constant  burdens  upon  the  benevolence 
of  the  community.  This  is  an  indication  for  prevent- 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS. 


35 


ive  medicine  and  good  hygiene  to  act  upon  ; to  apply 
treatment  to  these  people  before  and  not  after  the 
calamity  of  their  lives  has  occurred.  Six  days’  labor 
a week  may  be  too  much  for  them,  and  a more  fre- 
quent rest  might  perhaps  keep  the  habitual  strain  of 
their  lives  below  the  breaking  point.  If  so,  would  it 
not  be  wise  economy  to  relieve  the  pressure  before 
the  explosion,  and  to  abbreviate  their  days  of  labor, 
and  lighten  their  severity  ? Institutions  for  the 
insane  all  over  the  world  are  filled  with  people  to 
whom  the  stress  of  life  has  come  with  a weight,  not 
great  in  itself  perhaps,  not  too  much  for  you  or  me 
very  likely,  but  to  their  frail  natures  a frightful  over- 
strain, beneath  which  they  have  broken.  Sometimes 
they  only  bend,  and  after  a period  of  repose,  and  a 
hoarding  of  nervous  energy,  they  return  to  life,  and 
with  care  may  afterwards  carry  their  small  burden 
again  ; but  too  often  it  is  a breaking,  not  a bending 
of  their  bow,  which  no  skill  can  repair,  which  occurs, 
and  they  enter  upon  the  lingering  death  of  hopeless 
insanity. 

Is  it  straining  a point  to  say,  that  if  all  the  hard- 
worked  and  heavy  laden  were,  by  a common  senti- 
ment, accorded  even  a day  in  seven,  their  lives  would 
not  only  be  fuller,  happier,  and  generally  better,  but 
that  a weight  would  be  lifted  from  many  a frail  and 
feeble  individual,  whose  frailty  and  feebleness  are 
not  of  his  own  working,  but  the  penalty  of  others’ 
sins,  and  the  reproach  of  a cruel  and  selfish  world? 

Altruism  is  written  on  the  standards  of  civilization 
in  these  days.  Where  is  there  a better  field  for  its 
display  than  in  curbing  the  selfishness  of  the  strong  ; 
in  convincing  the  unthinking  employer,  that  the  long 
hours  of  labor,  that  the  unbroken  succession  of  days 


36 


SUNDA  Y REST 


of  work,  is  a temporary  gain,  purchased  at  a fearful 
price  of  human  sufferings  ; that  the  apparent  econ- 
omy is  only  apparent,  and  that  the  ultimate  result  of 
neglecting  the  laws  of  public  health  cannot  fail  to 
entail  increased  financial  burdens  upon  the  commu- 
nity ; that  it  is  cheaper  to  support  the  poor  and  weak 
at  work,  than  in  hospitals  and  asylums?  When  these 
grand  truths  are  realized,  we  may  hope  for  an  over- 
powering sentiment  in  favor  of  an  intermission  in 
labor. 

The  physician  may  not,  from  his  professional  stand- 
point, say  what  particular  day  shall  be  observed  as  a 
periodical  rest.  He  may  not,  as  a doctor,  declare 
that  the  one  day  of  rest  shall  follow  six  days  of  labor. 
He  may  only  indeed  insist  upon  the  great  necessity 
of  an  intermission  in  labor,  to  regenerate  the  forces 
of  the  body  and  renew  its  power  to  work.  If,  how- 
ever, the  physician  and  hygienist  is  also  a student  of 
social  conditions,  and  a believer  in  the  Mosaic  dis- 
pensation and  its  Christian  succession,  he  will  join 
hands  cordially  with  those  who  view  the  subject  from 
these  points  alone,  and  say,  by  all  means  let  the  day 
of  rest  be  the  Sabbath  ; the  day  which,  by  tradition 
in  all  the  lands  now  interested  in  this  great  question, 
has  been  for  time  immemorial  set  apart  for  rest  from 
labor,  and  for  the  worship  of  God. 


N.  S.  Davis,  M.D.  There  are  one  or  two  points 
that  are  not  fully  developed  in  the  able  paper  of 
Dr.  Lyon,  though  alluded  to.  One  is,  that  more  evil 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS. 


3 7 


arises  from  the  non-use,  or  inadequate  use,  of  cer- 
tain organs  during  our  various  duties  and  labors, 
than  from  the  over-exercise  or  wear  of  those  we 
are  using.  Let  me  illustrate.  A man  who,  mentally- 
occupied,  sits  day  by  day  at  his  table  or  his  desk 
planning  some  business  undertaking,  and  studying 
the  details,  or  reading,  or  writing,  or  book-keeping ; 
or  the  woman  who  is  watching  her  needle  and  at 
the  same  time  trying  to  co-ordinate  the  movements 
of  her  feet  to  run  the  sewing-machine,  soon  becomes 
exhausted.  It  is  not  the  wear  of  the  brain,  how- 
ever, that  is  doing  the  harm,  but  deficient  use  of  the 
lungs.  For  it  has  been  ascertained  by  experiment 
that  a person  in  breathing  takes  in  from  one  to  two 
cubic  inches  less  volume  of  air  when  his  mind  is 
occupied  intently  than  when  the  attention  is  di- 
verted. A man  breathes  eighteen  times  a minute, 
and  there  are  sixty  minutes  in  an  hour,  and  say 
eight  hours  in  a working-day ; and  at  the  rate  of  one 
cubic  inch  less  volume  of  air  at  each  breath,  you  can 
figure  out  the  result. 

Now,  did  you  ever  think  why  it  is  that  everybody 
in  close  mental  occupation,  whether  the  woman  at 
her  sewing-machine,  the  student  at  his  books,  or  the 
clerk  at  his  desk,  goes  home  at  night  feeling  tired 
out  ? Invited  to  go  out  in  the  evening,  he  answers, 
“ Well,  I am  tired  out ; ” and  he  finds  it  a great  deal 
more  comfortable  to  soothe  that  tired  feeling  and 
dissipate  it  with  a cigar  than  to  go  out  and  take  a 
little  exercise  in  the  fresh  air.  But  why  is  he  tired  ? 
It  is  not  the  wear  of  his  muscles  that  has  made  him 
tired.  It  is  a lack  of  a supply  of  oxygen  through 
his  lungs  during  the  day ; and  the  man  succumbs,  and 
finally  gets  the  credit  of  killing  himself  by  his  devo- 


38 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


tion  to  business,  not  because  his  mental  toil  exhausted 
his  brain,  but  because  he  did  not  use  his  lungs  suf- 
ficiently to  supply  the  blood  with  the  necessary 
amount  of  oxygen,  until  disease  supervened,  and  he 
was  early  laid  on  the  shelf,  or  started  out  to  travel  to 
recover  his  health. 

It  is  the  fashion  of  the  day  to  think  that  every  one 
can  work,  regardless  of  time  or  place  or  occupation, 
ten  or  eleven  months  in  the  year  without  a rest,  be- 
cause he  is  going  to  have  a month’s  or  six  weeks’ 
vacation  once  a year.  To  hear  people  talk,  you  would 
suppose  that  there  was  a pocket  or  some  place  where 
one  could  store  up  health  enough  in  four  or  six 
weeks  of  rest  to  draw  on  all  the  remainder  of  the 
year  straight  through,  Sunday  or  no  Sunday.  Such 
is  the  almost  universal  practice.  But  where  is  the 
pocket  or  store-house  to  put  health  in  ? Did  you 
ever  ask  this  ? The  farmer  has  a cellar  for  his  po- 
tatoes and  meat ; but  where  is  the  pocket  for  health, 
in  which  to  store  it  up  to  be  drawn  from  as  needed  ? 
Health  is  simply  the  standard  of  regular,  even  action 
day  by  day,  between  the  process  of  repair  and  those 
of  waste.  You  must  balance  the  ledger  at  least  once 
a week.  You  ought  to  balance  it  every  day  if  you 
would  preserve  exact  health. 

If  we  should  follow  out  that  idea  of  the  non-use 
of  organs,  we  would  find  that  in  all  the -various 
avenues  of  life  it  is  the  organs  not  used,  or  used  in- 
sufficiently, that  cause  more  harm  than  the  wear  of 
organs  in  most  active  use. 

One  thought  more.  That  it  is  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  the  race  and  its  highest  health,  to 
have  all  the  vocations  of  life  arranged  in  such  a way 
that  at  least  every  seventh  day  may  be  a day  of  gen- 


PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS. 


39 


uine  rest,  does  not  mean  that  all  should  go  to  bed 
and  lie  there  from  Saturday  night  to  Monday  morn- 
ing ; but  it  means  absolute  recreation  and  abandon- 
ment of  the  week’s  toil,  and  diversion  of  the  mind 
and  thoughts  heavenward,  and  the  going  where  they 
can  find  plenty  of  fresh  and  invigorating  air  to  re- 
lieve them  from  toil,  and  get  a picture  of  joy  before 
them  which  will  tend  to  elevate  and  inspire  them 
with  new  hope  and  courage  and  strength. 

While  the  day  of  rest  is  thus  necessary  to  the 
preservation  of  the  race  and  its  highest  health  and 
happiness,  yet,  practically,  with  the  seventh  day  of 
rest  come  pitfalls  and  temptations  and  snares  to 
tempt  thousands  into  fouler  air  and  worse  surround- 
ings ; to  spend  their  day  in  an  atmosphere  impreg- 
nated with  little  else  than  the  fumes  of  tobacco  and 
whiskey,  and  to  keep  them  there  all  the  Sabbath  day, 
so  that  Monday  morning  they  are  better  fitted  to  go 
to  a doctor’s  office  than  to  go  to  work.  Every 
doctor  knows  that  Monday  is  his  most  busy  day; 
and  from  the  employer  of  laborers  we  have  the  testi- 
mony that  if  he  pays  his  men  Saturday  night,  the 
following  Monday  is  the  poorest  day  for  work  in  the 
week.  Thus  are  pitfalls  and  snares  laid  in  the  track 
of  the  laborer  to  prevent  his  getting  the  Sunday, 
— that  is,  as  a day  of  actual  rest.  And  it  is  one  of 
the  highest  duties  of  good  government  to  remove 
these  pitfalls  out  of  his  path. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


ECONOMIC  AND  ETHICAL  VALUE  OF  SUNDAY  REST. 
Geo.  E.  McNeill,  Boston,  Mass. 

SUNDAY  REST  IN  THE  OIL  INDUSTRIES.  W.  J.  Young, 
Vice-President  Forest  Oil  Company , Pittsburgh,  Penn. 

SUNDAY  REST  IN  MINING.  Thomas  Weir,  Superintendent  of 
Mines , Monte  Cristo,  Wash. 

SUNDAY  RAILWAY  TRAFFIC.  E.  C.  Beach,  Agent  Union  Line , 
Pennsylvania  R.  R.  Co. 

SUNDAY  IN  THE  INDUSTRIES  OF  FRANCE.  Ed.  Baum- 
gartner, Rouen,  France. 

SUNDAY  IN  METAL  AND  GLASS  WORKS  AND  MINES  OF 

FRANCE.  A.  Gibon,  late  Director  of  the  Metallurgic  Works  of 
Commentry  (Allier),  Paris,  France. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


THE  ECONOMIC  VALUE  OF  SUNDAY  REST. 

GEORGE  E.  MCNEILL, 

Boston , Mass . 

Introductory  Note.  Of  the  many  Congresses, 
during  the  time  of  the  Columbian  Exposition,  no  one 
can  be  of  more  vital  importance  to  economic  and 
social  progress  than  the  International  Congress  on 
Sunday  Rest. 

At  the  time  of  the  acceptance  of  the  invitation  to 
prepare  a paper,  my  thought  was  that  I was  to  enter 
a field  so  rich  in  material,  that  I could  not  fail  to 
gather  something  of  value.  The  pressure  of  other 
duties  has  kept  me  on  the  outside,  as  we  are  all  kept 
out  of  the  fertile  valley  of  truth  by  the  poverty  of  our 
social  and  economic  environment. 

Weighted  with  the  responsibility  and  duty  of  giv- 
ing my  testimony,  I have  attempted  in  the  briefest 
time  to  state  further  something  of  the  economic 
truth.  It  was  impossible  to  prepare  statistical  tables, 
or  to  keep  close  to  the  economic  method  of  treat- 
ment; so  if  the  economic  and  ethical  are  joined  in 
close  accord,  it  may  be  that  it  was  because  there  can 
be  no  division  of  the  two  ; for  it  is  said,  “ Whom 
God  hath  joined  together  let  no  man  put  asunder.” 
It  is  the  attempt  to  sunder  the  worker  from  his  man- 

43 


44 


SUNDAY  REST. 


hood,  the  animal  man  from  his  immortal  possibilities, 
that  has  caused  that  inhumanity  to  man  for  which 
the  countless  millions  mourn. 

This  paper  is,  then,  but  a plea  of  a human  soul  for 
the  rest  that  comes  with  universal  peace  and  pros- 
perity. 

That  a great  educational  work  is  needed  on  eco- 
nomic lines  is  evident  to  all  who  see  present  condi- 
tions and  weigh  the  present  and  past  with  man’s 
possibilities. 

But  to  some  of  us  arguments  seem  vain  ; interests 
control  our  acts,  and  so  it  seems  that  a hope  of  the 
salvation  of  society  must  rest  in  the  awakening  of  a 
new  line  of  interest.  Self-interest  is  blind  ; mutual 
interest  has  been  given  the  prophetic  vision.  Self- 
getting is  the  economic  way  to  the  abolition  of  pov- 
erty; self-getting  erects  its  barriers  between  classes  ; 
and  even  those  who  get  are,  by  the  process  of  the 
getting,  made  but  the  poor  slaves  of  fear,  folly,  and 
fashion.  Let  no  one  charge  us  truthfully  of  Phari- 
seeism.  Forced  obedience  to  the  bigot’s  rule  will 
not  save  the  Sunday  Rest-Day. 

The  saloon,  the  concert  hall,  and  the  theatre  are 
open  on  Sunday,  because  we  have  closed  the  avenues 
that  lead  to  a more  enjoyable  and  beneficent  em- 
ployment of  rest  time.  “ I had  rather  talk  with  you 
than  go  to  the  theatre,”  said  one  well-known  labor 
man  to  another ; yet  both  of  these  men  are  lovers  of 
the  drama. 

The  Sunday  meetings  of  labor  men  in  their  unions 
and  central  bodies  are  awakening  anew  line  of  attrac- 
tive interests  ; and  as  men  advance  on  the  line  of 
mutuality,  and  their  aesthetic  tastes  are  quickened 
through  shorter  hours  and  higher  wages,  the  glitter 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


45 


of  the  saloon  will  pale  before  the  glory  of  the  home 
circle,  and  the  feast  of  reason  and  the  flow  of  soul 
at  the  union  hall  will  overcome  the  social  attractions 
of  the  bar-room. 

Sunday  is  the  barrier  between  mammon  and  hu- 
manity. Good  generalship  requires  more  than  the 
strengthening  of  the  fortification  ; we  must  advance 
more  and  more  upon  the  lines  of  the  enemy,  driving 
him  back  hour  by  hour,  until  the  rest  hours  of  the 
work  days  shall  so  equalize  time  and  wealth,  that 
the  motive  of  self-aggrandizement  shall  give  way  to 
the  higher  motive  of  mutual  helpfulness. 

WAGES  are  and  must  be  at  the  highest  point 
where  the  aspirations  and  motives,  and  the 
habits  and  customs  of  the  wage-workers  cause  a 
progressive  demand  for  the  larger  portion  of  time 
for  intellectual  and  moral  development.  This  pro- 
gressive demand  will  continue  until  the  time  is 
reached  when  the  minimum  of  manual  labor  will 
produce  the  maximum  products  required. 

The  animal  man  has  few  physical,  and  compara- 
tively no  moral  or  intellectual,  motives.  His  social 
wants  and  demands  are  the  first  manifestation  of  his 
superiority  over  the  animal  kingdom. 

The  crudest  social  contact  awakens  aspirations 
and  develops  intellectual  activities.  The  moral  law 
is  evolved  out  of  the  desire  for  improved  societary 
conditions,  and  the  intellectual  activity  called  into 
play  for  their  attainment. 

Society,  from  the  time  of  Eden  to  the  time  of  the 
Columbian  Exposition,  demands  a release  of  time 
from  the  individual  out-put  of  exertion  in  the  form 
of  labor,  to  the  requirements  of  social  life  and  en- 


46 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


joyment.  Protection  in  the  enjoyments  of  society 
requires  conformity  to  such  mutual  understandings 
and  agreements  as  is  necessary  for  their  orderly 
conduct. 

The  orderly  conduct  of  society  necessitates  the  ob- 
servance of  moral  law.  Immoral  control  cannot  be 
orderly.  Excessive  labor  demoralizes  the  animal,  so- 
cial, intellectual,  moral,  and  spiritual  nature  of  man. 
Excessive  labor  is  therefore  destructive  to  order. 

The  hours  rescued  from  the  labor  of  working- 
days  cannot  be  hours  of  rest  in  the  fullest  sense, 
because  of  the  working-day  environment.  The  res- 
cued hours  will  advance  wages  and  improve  the 
moral,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  man  by  the  improve- 
ment of  societary  conditions.;  but  they  cannot  be 
restful  except  in  the  ratio  of  a general  suspension  of 
ordinary  occupations  and  vocations. 

The  rescued  hours  from  week-day  labor  are  prop- 
erly hours  of  new  activities,  either  for  the  home  or 
for  social  life,  or  for  both. 

Holidays  where  labor  is  depressed  are  hollow  days. 
When  laborers  and  employers  are  one,  these  days  re- 
leased from  work  will  be  holy  days. 

The  Sunday  Rest-Day  is  holy  to  rest,  and  every  in- 
road upon  its  observance  as  a rest  day  endangers 
the  wages  of  wage-receivers.  A Puritan  Sunday  is 
safer  than  a work-day  Sunday.  A work-day  Sunday 
will  mean  a pauper  Sunday. 

A Sunday  Rest-Day  means  seven  days’  living  for 
six  days’  working.  It  means  Sunday  clothes  for  the 
family  ; Sunday  clothes  mean  better  furniture  for 
the  home.  Sunday  clothes  with  an  uncarpeted  floor 
will  not  harmonize. 

When  men  dress  in  work  clothes  every  day,  their 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


47 


wages  will  fall  or  remain  at  the  work-day  clothes 
level.  Good  clothes  and  good  furniture,  resultant 
from  the  Sunday  Rest-Day,  provoke  an  appetite  for 
books,  pictures,  musical  instruments,  and  the  other 
necessities  of  a higher  development  of  manhood. 

A Sunday  work-day  is  a reduction  of  wages,  earn- 
ings, and  products.  Men  who  receive  more  than 
they  can  properly  expend,  will  ultimately  receive  less 
than  they  can  properly  expend  ; or  they  will  acquire 
habits  of  extravagance  and  profligacy,  and  thus  be- 
come a menace  to  progressive  civilization.  Misers 
are  the  exception  to  the  rule,  and  they  are  a curse 
to  themselves  and  society. 

The  standard  of  moral  attainments  and  intellec- 
tual activities  fixes  the  standard  of  wages. 

Men  contented  with  Sunday  work  and  low  wage 
conditions  must  be  aroused  to  an  honorable  and  ac- 
tive discontent. 

Every  motive  and  act  that  increases  production 
through  the  increased  demand  for  more  and  better 
things,  tends  to  a more  equitable  distribution  of 
wealth. 

Sunday  work  and  all  over-work  lessen  the  demand 
for  the  best,  cheapen  the  worker  as  a man,  and 
tend  to  an  iniquitous  distribution  of  wealth. 

The  men,  the  corporations,  and  the  habits  and  cus- 
toms that  force  Sunday  work,  fatten  the  treasury  of 
those  engaged  in  the  most  harmful  business  enter- 
prises, and  lessen  the  consumption  of  those  things 
that  make  men  dearer. 

The  full  benefit  of  Sunday  cannot  obtain  where 
the  workers  are  not  recuperated  by  daily  hours  of 
rest.  The  short  hour  and  the  Saturday  half-holiday 
are  a part  of  the  Sunday  Rest-Day  movement. 


48 


SUNDAY  REST. 


The  man  who  is  compelled  to  take  extra  sleep  or 
extra  stimulant,  or  both,  on  Sunday,  cannot  be  eco- 
nomically benefited  to  the  same  extent  as  can  the 
man  who  welcomes  the  Sunday  sunrise  with  joy  and 
thanksgiving. 

Sunday  rest  means  more  than  a non-working  rest ; 
it  should  mean  a rest  from  the  dull  care  for  self,  and 
the  awakening  of  the  joy  that  comes  .from  care  for 
others. 

These  are  assertions  founded  on  a world-wide  and 
world-time  experience. 

Those  who  are  educated  in  the  godless,  senseless 
dogma  that  time  is  a commodity  to  be  sold  for  hire, 
and  that  the  more  time  you  sell,  the  more  wealth 
you  will  have,  will  take  issue  with  the  assertion  that 
time  is  the  soul  of  this  life. 

It  is  economic  blasphemy  (if  I may  use  the  term) 
to  say  that  the  chief  end  of  man  is  to  sell  the  most 
of  his  time  for  the  largest  possible  amount  of  mate- 
rial wealth  ; and  yet  the  whole  mammonized  system 
of  industry  rests  upon  this  blasphemous  falsehood. 

Sunday  stands  unique  and  alone  as  a protest 
against  this,  and  every  self-asserting,  wealth-getting 
age.  Wealth  thus  gained  is  a weight,  a burden,  a 
chain  to  hold  down  the  immortal  man  to  the  grossest 
animal  desires. 

It  is  the  image  of  God  in  man  that  demands  our 
homage,  not  the  golden  image  of  the  calf  upon  the  al- 
tar. The  Mosaic  seventh  day  sabbath,  and  the  Chris- 
tian’s Sunday  or  first  day,  are  one  with  the  rest  day 
of  true  science. 

The  institution  of  the  rest  day  is  evidence  to  me 
of  an  all-pervading  wisdom.  It  is  not  necessary,  as 
of  old,  that  a prophet  declare  a curse  upon  those  who 


IN D US  TRIAL  RELATIONS. 


49 


set  at  naught  this  eternal  law  of  rest,  — the  prophecy 
has  become  the  fact  ; the  curse  is  here. 

Heaven  is  often  portrayed  as  a place  of  rest,  and 
we  are  bade  to  pray,  “ May  thy  kingdom  come  on 
earth  even  as  it  has  in  heaven.”  When  that  time 
comes,  then  the  Sunday  Rest-Day  shall  not  be  a day 
of  idleness,  but  a day  of  activities  for  man’s  sublimer 
part. 

But  now  in  this  day  of  unrest,  this  day  of  con- 
flicting interests,  this  day  of  insane  greed  for  wealth, 
and  lust  for  power  and  position,  the  Sunday  Rest- 
day  must  be  preserved,  not  only  to  manual  laborers, 
but  for  all. 

The  Sunday  Rest-Day  is  in  competition  with  the 
Sunday  work-day.  In  the  sweet  name  of  pleasure, 
men  are  deluded  into  yielding,  point  by  point,  to 
the  enemy,  as  clowns  were  wont  to  beguile  the  idle 
heads  of  kings  ; and  music  has  been  made  to  lend 
her  harmonizing  and  inspiring  power  to  tempt  the 
unwary  into  dangerous  paths.  As  public  carnivals 
and  sensuous  joys  have  been  freely  furnished  to 
turn  the  people  from  their  righteous  anger,  so,  in 
the  name  of  liberty  and  pleasure,  have  we  been  cap- 
tivated by  the  laugh  of  fools  ; been  tempted  in  our 
selfishness  to  forget  that  even  our  pleasures  may  be 
another’s  pain. 

The  shorter  hours  of  work-days  already  gained  are 
being  robbed  of  their  full  beneficence  by  Sunday 
work ; and  Sunday  rest  is  robbed,  in  turn,  not  only 
by  those  who  are  forced  to  do  Sunday  work,  but 
robbed  by  the  increasing  cares  caused  by  the  in- 
creasing wants  and  demands  of  the  more  active  life. 

The  economic  law  that  governs  wages  cannot  be 
violated  with  impunity ; and  the  inroads  now  made 


So 


SUNDA  Y REST 


and  being  made  upon  the  Sunday  Rest-Day  are  con- 
sequent upon  our  failure  so  to  reduce  the  hours  of 
toil,  that  man’s  capacity  to  consume  the  better  things 
may  keep  pace  with  the  productive  capacity  of  ma- 
chinery. 

My  plea  for  the  rescue  of  the  Sunday  Rest-Day 
would  be  vain,  as  our  united  voices  shall  be,  unless 
we  lay  the  axe  at  the  root  of  the  evil  tree. 

Make  the  animal  man  a social,  intellectual,  moral, 
human  being ; then  into  the  image  of  the  living  God 
will  be  breathed  the  inspiration  of  a glorified  spirit- 
ual existence. 


SUNDAY  REST  IN  THE  OIL  INDUSTRIES. 

W,  /.  YOUNG . 

IN  relation  to  the  oil  industries,  I can  say  that  im- 
proved methods  and  close  observation  of  the 
business  have  demonstrated  that  there  is  no  neces- 
sity to  pump  oil  wells  on  Sunday.  In  the  early  days 
of  the  industry  it  was  thought  that  to  stop  pumping 
wells  on  Sunday  impaired  the  production  ; but,  from 
close  personal  observation,  I am  prepared  to  say  that 
if  operators  will  stop  the  machinery  from  Saturday 
night  until  Monday  morning,  they  will  pump,  in  most 
cases,  as  much  oil  in  six  days  as  in  seven,  for  these 
reasons : — 

First  : Machinery  used  continuously  will  be  more 
easily  broken,  and  breaking  machinery  makes  forced 
stoppage. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS . 


51 


Second  : A man  who  is  required  to  work  seven 
days  in  a week  does  it  to  hold  his  place,  to  support 
himself  and  family,  but  loses  self-respect,  and  does 
not  have  the  interest  in  the  work  he  would  have  did 
he  respect  himself  and  his  employer. 

The  owners  of  land  through  Allegheny  and  Wash- 
ington Counties,  Penn.,  were  Sabbatarians  from 
principle,  and  in  many  cases  inserted  a clause  in  the 
leases  to  operate  their  farms,  to  the  effect  that  no 
work  should  be  done  on  the  Sabbath  ; and  although 
the  operator  might  be  willing  to  go  into  court  and 
swear  that  it  injured  wells  to  stop  pumping  them  on 
Sunday,  yet,  in  order  to  get  the  lease,  he  would  take 
it  with  this  clause  in,  and  live  up  to  it  too,  because 
he  knew  the  man  who  had  the  mind  to  put  in  the 
clause  would  also  enforce  it  if  it  became  necessary. 

Most  of  the  Sunday  work  in  the  Oil  Country 
comes  from  the  same  cause  as  other  work  on  Sun- 
day,— “greed  for  money.”  One  person  will  not  stop 
for  fear  his  neighbor  will  get  a little  more  oil  than 
he,  and  the  neighbor  will  not  stop  because  the  other 
will  not.  I am  of  the  opinion  that  were  it  com- 
pulsory to  pay  to  the  churches  or  schools  one- 
seventh  of  the  product,  when  wells  are  pumped  on 
Sunday,  the  churches  and  schools  would  not  be 
enriched  by  their  share,  as  the  parties  would  run  the 
chances  of  injury  rather  than  give  away  one-seventh 
of  their  production. 

The  point  I wish  to  make  from  this  is,  that  wells 
do  not  need  to  be  pumped  on  Sunday,  and  can  be 
shut  down  if  the  owners  have  the  desire  to  do  it, 
or  are  forced  to  by  the  conditions  of  their  leases. 
During  the  year  1890,  our  company  purchased  the 
controlling  interest  in  a large  property.  The  prop- 


52 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


erty  had  formerly  been  run  seven  days  in  the  week; 
When  we  took  charge  we  said  to  the  minority  inter- 
est that  we  were  opposed  to  working  on  Sunday. 
They  objected  on  the  ground  of  injury.  The  prop- 
osition was  made  them,  that  they  allow  the  wells 
to  be  shut  down  for  the  next  two  Sundays,  and  if 
the  production  of  the  two  weeks  to  come  would  not 
equal  the  past  two,  the  wells  would  be  pumped  on 
Sunday  thereafter.  They  agreed  to  the  proposition. 
They  were  furnished  with  the  weekly  production 
for  the  two  preceding  weeks.  Then,  as  the  property 
was  pumped  for  the  two  succeeding  weeks,  the  two 
weeks'  production  from  the  six  days'  pumping  was 
more  than  that  of  the  two  weeks  when  they  were 
pumped  for  seven  days.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
our  partners  consented  to  pump  only  six  days  per 
week  thereafter. 

Until  the  past  year  our  company  (the  largest  oil 
producing  company  in  the  United  States)  has  been 
pumping  wells  in  what  is  called  “The  Hundred  Foot 
District  ” (so  named  because  of  the  thickness  of  the 
rock  in  which  the  oil  and  salt-water  is  found).  The 
rock  in  this  level  is  always  filled  with  oil  and  salt- 
water, or  salt-water  alone.  Sometimes  a well  will 
produce  one  thousand  barrels  per  day  of  fluid,  of 
which  salt-water  will  be  nine-tenths,  and  oil  one-tenth. 
The  oil  is  saved,  after  being  separated  in  tank,  the 
salt-water  being  allowed  to  run  off.  The  operators 
in  this  district  pumped  every  day  in  the  year.  The 
man  who  would  shut  down  his  wells  on  Sunday  was 
considered  about  ready  to  throw  away  the  amount  he 
had  invested  in  the  plant ; but  our  field  superin- 
tendent, knowing  the  manager's  desire  to  have  no 
work  done  on  the  Sabbath,  began  experimenting, 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


53 


and  after  some  time  announced  to  the  men  that  they 
need  not  come  back  to  work  on  Sunday. 

The  next  Sunday  the  minister  in  the  small  church, 
instead  of  having  a few  women  and  children  for 
a congregation,  had  the  little  building  comfortably 
filled  with  men,  women,  and  children.  After  several 
months  of  cessation  of  Sunday  work,  we  wrote  for  in- 
formation as  to  how  the  properties  were  producing, 
and  how  the  men  were  pleased.  I quote  you  the 
superintendent’s  language  : — 

“ One  thing  I am  sure  of,  it  has  made  quite  a difference  in  the 
energy  and  cheerfulness  of  the  employees.  ‘ We  can  do  more 
work  in  six  days  than  in  seven.’  Most  of  the  men  attend  church 
or  Sabbath-school,  or  both,  on  Sunday,  and  come  out  Monday 
morning  prepared  for  a good  week’s  work.  We  also  have  the 
satisfaction  of  others  following  our  example.  The  people  living 
here  say  it  looks  more  like  Sunday  than  before  they  got  oil.” 

Another  instance  may  be  given  from  the  northern 
part  of  Pennsylvania,  near  the  State-line  of  New 
York,  where  a rich  field  was  worked  by  our  com- 
pany. Being  quite  a distance  from  any  town,  the 
children  of  the  workingmen  could  not  walk  to 
school.  The  company  offered  to  build  and  heat  a 
house,  if  the  school  directors  of  the  district  would 
furnish  a teacher  for  the  scholars.  They  did  so  ; and 
from  this  little  school  on  week-days,  a Sunday-school 
was  started  for  the  people  of  the  neighborhood,  after 
the  Sunday-school  a prayer-meeting,  with  a church 
service  once  a month  on  Sabbath,  then  a regular 
church.  A letter  from  the  superintendent  of  the 
farms  said  that  quite  a number  of  our  men,  and 
many  of  the  neighboring  employees,  had  joined  the 
church. 

This  was  up  in  the  Hemlock  Forests  of  Pennsyl- 


54 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


vania.  A stranger,  to  drive  through  this  settlement, 
would  see  a clump  of  neat  one  story  rough  board 
houses,  a little  patch  of  garden  to  each,  a cow  or 
horse,  and  sometimes  both.  These  evidences  of 
prosperity  are  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the 
people  were  under  the  influence  of  the  gospel,  were 
working  for  the  family  happiness  and  elevation  of 
the  children.  The  Sabbath  to  them  was  a day  of 
rest  and  moral  elevation,  and  resulted  in  a closer 
intimacy  of  parents  and  children. 

I think  the  foregoing  has  answered  the  inquiries 
as  to  Oil  Industries  and  Sabbath  Rest,  and  its  bene- 
fits to  the  laboring  class  at  work  in  the  business. 

My  own  impression  is,  that  if  employers  would 
look  into  their  business,  and  take  the  trouble  intel- 
ligently to  investigate  the  work  from  week  to  week, 
they  would  find  it  financially  a success  to  work  only 
six  days,  and  let  their  employees  rest  on  the  Sab- 
bath. This  is  a selfish  way  to  look  at  it;  but,  as 
most  of  the  Sabbath  work  is  done  for  gain,  I think 
it  would  pay  to  investigate  this  phase  of  it.  I hold 
that  an  employer  should  be  careful  of  the  example 
he  gives  his  employees.  If  the  employer  requires 
his  men  to  violate  the  Fourth  Commandment,  by 
causing  them  to  work  on  the  Sabbath,  he  should  not 
be  surprised  if  the  employee  violates  the  Sixth  or 
the  Eighth  Commandment.  In  proof  of  this,  I make 
the  assertion  that  most  of  the  strikes  in  this  country 
that  have  been  accompanied  by  violence  and  blood- 
shed, have  been  where  men  were  required  to  work 
on  the  Sabbath  day. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


55 


SUNDAY  REST  IN  MINING. 

THOMAS  WEIR . 

MOST  of  the  work  done  in  connection  with  min- 
ing, as  ordinarily  conducted,  is  out  of  sight  of 
the  average  visitor  or  spectator.  Mining  formerly 
employed  but  few  men.  At  present  we  have  several 
States  almost  wholly  dependent  on  this  industry,  and 
we  have  a large  population  in  about  twenty  States  and 
Territories  following  this  occupation.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  note  the  large  number  of  cities  and  towns 
which  are  dependent  on  the  mining  industry  in  their 
vicinity.  Most  of  these  places  are  in  our  young 
States  and  Territories  in  the  Far  West,  which  are 
only  sparsely  settled  at  the  present  time.  The  effect, 
socially  and  morally,  of  the  customs  now  being  es- 
tablished in  these  new  settlements,  will  be  far  reach- 
ing in  its  influence  on  these  communities. 

Mining  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  is  principally  con- 
fined to  the  production  of  the  ores  containing  gold, 
silver,  lead,  and  copper.  While  the  writer’s  expe- 
rience and  observation  has  been  principally  in  con- 
nection with  this  class  of  mines,  still,  the  conclusions 
arrived  at  should  be  applicable  to  the  industry  of 
mining  in  general. 

Right  here  it  may  be  well  to  note  some  of  the  cir- 
cumstances and  conditions  relating  to  this  business. 

First,  we  have  the  prospector,  who  roams  from 
gulch  to  gulch,  and  from  one  mountain  to  another, 
in  search  of  veins  and  deposits,  which  he  locates 
or  appropriates,  under  our  mining  statutes.  He  is 


56 


SUNDA  Y REST 


in  no  sense  a permanent  resident.  He  does  not  often 
visit  the  same  district  two  seasons  in  succession. 

Then  we  have  the  miner,  who  works  in  the  tunnel 
and  shafts  and  other  workings  that  are  driven,  in 
order  to  develop  these  veins  or  deposits.  Some 
mines  are  developed  by  tunnels,  where  very  little  or 
no  machinery  is  required.  Others  are  developed  by 
inclines  or  shafts,  or  both,  and  require  machinery  to 
elevate  the  product  of  the  mines.  In  most  cases 
pumping  machinery  is  required  to  keep  the  workings 
drained.  Many  mines  have  large  plants  of  machin- 
ery for  compressed  air,  electric  power  or  light,  and 
other  useful  purposes. 

A mining  camp  or  town  is  usually  a new  settle- 
ment ; is  born  and  reaches  maturity  in  a remarkably 
short  time.  At  first  there  are  no  families,  schools, 
or  churches.  It  is  simply  a community  of  men,  and 
mostly  single  men.  Almost  every  man  has  on  his 
working  clothes  when  Sunday  comes.  There  is  no 
religious  service,  and  no  place  to  go  for  rest  or  lei- 
sure which  is  open  to  the  public,  except  the  saloon 
or  gambling  house.  The  saloon-keeper,  realizing 
this,  is  usually  first  on  the  ground.  The  prospector 
generally  continues  his  prospecting  on  Sunday  as  on 
other  days.  The  miner  works  because  there  does 
not  seem  to  be  anything  else  to  do.  The  merchant 
keeps  his  store  open  because  he  gets  as  much  busi- 
ness on  that  day  as  on  other  days,  and  “ because  all 
the  rest  do  it .”  After  a while  a Sunday-school  is 
started,  and  later  a church  is  organized.  The  Sun- 
day-school is  usually  composed  of  one  or  two  men,  a 
few  Christian  women,  and  those  children  who  can  be 
persuaded  to  come.  The  church  has  a small  mem- 
bership, mostly  women.  The  attendance  at  service 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


57 


is  small,  because  the  men  work  on  Sunday  as  on 
other  days.  The  financial  support  is  poor,  because 
so  few  are  seeking  spiritual  blessings.  They  seem 
blind  to  their  needs.  “They  love  darkness  rather 
than  light.” 

The  missionary  minister  is  discouraged.  He  goes 
to  the  mining  superintendent  for  financial  help,  and 
to  plead  that  the  miners  be  allowed  to  rest  on  Sun- 
day. He  may  get  a semi-annual  contribution,  but 
usually  the  minister  is  told  that  the  church  is  not 
doing  much  good,  hence  he  (the  mining  superinten- 
dent) does  not  care  to  give  anything.  Regarding 
Sunday  rest  for  the  miners,  the  minister  is  informed 
that  it  is  all  nonsense  to  think  of  it,  because  the 
miners  would  all  get  drunk  on  Sunday  if  they  were 
not  working,  and  they  would  not  be  fit  for  work  on 
Monday  ; consequently,  the  miners  are  better  off 
working  than  resting  on  Sunday.  The  mine  could 
not  stand  the  expense  of  keeping  all  the  machinery 
in  repair  and  the  pumps  running,  with  the  miners 
resting  and  no  work  being  done. 

The  missionary  then  goes  to  the  merchants,  to  see 
if  they  will  not  close  their  places  of  business  on 
Sunday ; and  they  all  with  one  consent  begin  to 
make  excuse.  They  claim  the  Sunday  trade  is  as 
good  or  better  than  that  of  other  days ; that  a good 
many  prospectors  come  into  camp  for  supplies  on 
Sunday,  and  if  they  closed  their  stores  they  would 
lose  this  business  ; and,  in  a very  sanctimonious  tone, 
they  say,  if  they  do  not  keep  their  stores  open  the 
men  will  spend  their  money  in  the  saloons. 

Finally,  the  missionary  .visits  the  miners,  to  see  if 
they  will  not  use  their  influence  in  favor  of  Sunday 
rest.  A few,  because  of  their  early  training,  or  con- 


58 


SUNDAY  REST. 


victions,  or  other  reasons,  are  in  favor  of  Sunday 
rest.  A majority  are  opposed  to  it.  Some  of  them 
claim  they  have  families  to  support  (either  in  camp 
or  elsewhere),  and  that  they  cannot  support  them 
without  working  on  Sundays.  Others  say  there  is 
nothing  to  do  in  this  town  on  Sunday  but  work,  and 
they  are  unwilling  to  lose  the  day.  But  a great 
many  miners  claim  (and  truthfully)  that  their  super- 
intendent is  unwilling  to  close  the  mine  on  Sunday, 
and  that  they  would  be  discharged  if  they  refused 
to  work.  All  this  time  we  are  in  a “ Sunday  work  ” 
mining  town,  where  the  mining  superintendent 
boasts  that  he  does  not  mix  religion  with  his  busi- 
ness, and  where  the  miners  are  being  worked  Sundays 
to  keep  them  from  drinking  and  gambling,  and  to 
reduce  the  mining  expenses ; where  the  miners  work 
Sundays  in  order  to  support  their  families  ; where 
the  merchants  keep  their  places  of  business  open  on 
Sundays  to  accommodate  their  customers  and  to 
keep  the  miners  from  spending  their  money  in  the 
saloons  ; where  the  number  of  saloons  is  much 
greater  per  capita  of  population  than  in  Sunday 
rest  communities  ; where  there  is  so  little  religion 
and  so  much  dissipation  that  the  fact  is  notorious  ; 
where  wages  are  highest  and  credit  is  poorest ; where 
morality  is  a crime  and  dissipation  a virtue ; where 
evil  is  called  good  and  good  is  called  evil  ; where  men 
are  continually  boasting  of  their  personal  liberty. 

The  above  picture  is  not  overdrawn  ; and  Sunday 
work,  with  its  direct  effects,  is  largely  responsible 
for  this  unfortunate  state  of  affairs.  The  general 
reputation  of  Western  mining  camps  for  immorality, 
where  the  miners  have  been  doing  Sunday  work  for 
years,  is  ample  proof  on  this  point. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


59 


Bearing  in  mind  the  usual  conditions  under  which 
drainage  must  be  maintained  and  the  machinery 
kept  in  order,  it  is  evident  that  from  time  to  time 
some  work  must  be  done  on  Sundays,  as  a matter  of 
necessity.  This  is  not  the  kind  of  work  referred  to 
as  Sunday  work.  By  Sunday  work  we  mean  such 
an  amount  and  kind  of  work  as  is  customary  on 
other  days. 

Let  us  investigate  some  of  the  excuses  given  for 
Sunday  work.  One  reason  is  to  economize  mining 
expenses.  It  is  a noteworthy  fact  that  the  leading 
copper  and  iron  mines  of  this  country  (outside  of 
Montana)  observe  Sunday  rest.  They  have  to  drain 
and  operate  deep  workings,  still  their  expenses  are 
much  less  per  ton  than  those  who  require  Sunday 
work.  We  never  hear  it  suggested  that  Sunday 
work  is  going  to  be  inaugurated  to  reduce  the  cost 
per  ton.  The  average  miner  cannot  do  good  work 
seven  days  in  the  week  any  more  than  any  other 
class  of  labor  can.  He  becomes  tired  out,  and  works 
like  a tired  man.  The  writer  knows  of  several  in- 
stances in  the  Rocky  Mountains  where  mines  for- 
merly operated  seven  days  in  a week,  afterwards 
observed  Sunday  rest,  and  the  result  was  a large 
saving  in  the  cost  of  production,  though  depth  and 
quantity  of  water  increased. 

One  case  is  a shaft  that  was  sunk  two  hundred 
feet  (below  a depth  of  one  thousand  feet).  The 
miners  worked  every  day  from  the  time  the  work 
was  begun  until  it  was  finished.  A few  months 
later  sinking  was  again  resumed,  and  the  shaft  sunk 
a further  distance  of  two  hundred  feet.  While  sink- 
ing the  last  two  hundred  feet  the  miners  observed 
Sunday  rest  (by  stopping  work  for  twenty-four 


6o 


SUNDA  Y REST 


hours  on  Sunday).  The  same  miners  sunk  the  last 
two  hundred  feet  that  sunk  the  former  two  hundred 
feet.  The  rock  showed  no  change.  The  progress 
per  day  was  better.  The  total  cost  per  foot  was  re- 
duced twenty-one  per  cent.  The  only  work  done  on 
Sunday  was  to  pump  the  water. 

Another  example : a mine  produced  a certain 
amount  of  ore  per  week  for  several  years,  and  prac- 
tised Sunday  work;  later,  Sunday  rest  was  observed: 
the  same  out-put  in  tons  per  week  was  maintained, 
with  the  same  force  that  was  employed  when  Sunday 
work  was  the  custom. 

It  is  surprising  that  a mining  superintendent  should 
claim  ability  and  efficiency  in  working  a mine,  and  at 
the  same  time  admit  that  his  force  is  so  worthless, 
that  they  would  get  drunk  and  be  unfit  for  work  on 
Monday  if  they  were  allowed  Sunday  rest.  The  re- 
fusal to  suspend  Sunday  work  is  often  made  because 
of  a disposition  to  entirely  divorce  from  business  any 
appearance  of  being  religious. 

As  to  the  claim  of  some  of  the  miners,  that  they 
could  not  afford  to  lose  Sunday  wages,  we  will  give  one 
of  many  instances  that  we  know  of.  A certain  miner, 
whom  we  will  call  Scotia,  worked  over  three  years  in 
a Colorado  mine,  where  the  custom  of  Sunday  work 
prevailed.  Scotia  had  good  physique,  was  about 
twenty-two  years  old,  and  in  good  average  health. 
He  worked  Sundays,  and  kept  a diary  which  showed 
the  actual  time  worked  during  the  year.  After  Sco- 
tia had  been  working  in  the  mine  three  years,  Sunday 
rest  was  adopted.  All  other  conditions  remained  the 
same,  except  that  the  depth  and  amount  of  water 
increased.  When  Sunday  work  was  discontinued, 
Scotia  was  among  the  first  of  the  miners  to  complain 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


61 


that  he  would  lose  one  day’s  pay  each  week,  and  he 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  continue  Sunday  work.  His 
request  was  not  granted.  He  continued  to  work  in 
the  same  mine,  and  kept  his  diary  as  usual.  One 
year  after  Sunday  rest  had  become  the  custom,  Sco- 
tia told  the  superintendent  that  he  found  upon  ex- 
amination of  his  diary,  that  he  worked  more  days  and 
received  more  pay  during  the  year  of  Sunday  rest 
than  during  any  of  the  years  when  Sunday  work  was 
the  custom.  Upon  being  asked  for  an  explanation, 
he  said,  that  while  Sunday  work  was  the  custom  he 
lost  more  time  on  account  of  sickness  than  offset 
the  Sundays  for  the  same  time.  This  experience 
of  Scotia  was  related  eight  years  ago,  and  he  has 
confirmed  it  many  times  since.  Many  others  can 
testify  to  the  same  experience.  “ He  that  earneth 
wages  by  Sunday  work,  earneth  wages  to  put  it  into 
a bag  with  holes.”  In  this  connection  it  is  worthy 
of  note,  that  our  savings  banks  show  smaller  savings 
in  Sunday  work  than  in  Sunday  rest  communities, 
even  though  the  rate  of  wages  is  higher  in  the  former. 

Miners  who  work  Sundays  are  always  tired  out. 
They  have  little  time  to  cultivate  the  better  part  of 
their  moral  or  social  natures.  If  they  have  families, 
they  only  board  with  their  families.  They  do  not 
live  and  associate  with  the  wife  and  children.  It  is 
useless  for  the  father  to  tell  the  children  to  go  to 
church  and  he  will  go  to  work.  The  mother  must 
work  Sunday,  if  the  husband  does,  to  a greater  ex- 
tent than  she  would  if  he  rested.  Morally,  the 
example  of  Sunday  work  is  very  injurious  to  the 
family. 

When  Sunday  rest  is  observed,  the  ordinary  drudg- 
ery is  dispensed  with  for  the  day.  The  parents  and 


62 


SUNDA  Y REST 


children  are  dressed  in  their  best.  The  family  affec- 
tions are  cultivated  and  encouraged  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Sunday  rest.  The  miners  rest  and  are  bet- 
ter able  to  do  their  work.  As  an  example  of  this 
we  will  only  mention  one  case  of  the  many  that  we 
know  of.  The  case  is  a foreman  whom  we  will  call 
Mason.  Mason  had  followed  mining  for  twenty 
years  in  Nevada,  Utah,  Colorado,  Montana,  and  New 
Mexico.  In  relating  his  experience  and  observation, 
he  maintained  that  the  force  he  had  in  a certain  camp 
averaged  twenty-five  per  cent  better  than  the  same 
number  of  men  in  any  other  mining  camp  in  which 
he  had  ever  operated.  It  came  out  that  Sunday 
rest  had  been  observed  at  the  mine  where  he  had 
such  good  results,  and  in  all  the  others  Sunday  work 
was  the  custom. 

The  illustrations  given  do  not  show  that  Sunday 
rest  will  make  incompetent  men,  competent  ; or 
worthless  men,  trustworthy ; or  ignorant  men,  in- 
telligent ; or  vicious  men,  moral.  But  they  do  show 
that,  other  things  being  equal,  Sunday  rest  will  im- 
prove the  character  and  efficiency  of  the  force  em- 
ployed, and  reduce  the  working  expenses  and  also 
increase  the  actual  savings  of  the  men  employed. 

The  statement  often  made,  and  believed  by  many, 
that  miners  are  a hardened,  reckless,  and  dissipated 
class,  usually  comes  from  those  who  are  largely  re- 
sponsible for  this  condition  of  affairs,  and  who  have 
used  their  influence  in  favor  of  Sunday  work  and  the 
evils  associated  with  this  custom,  and  is  simply  an 
observation  of  the  effects  of  this  influence  on  men, 
when  the  custom  is  continued  for  a considerable 
time. 

The  miner  is  human.  He  has  a social  and  moral 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS . 63 

nature.  He  has  a soul.  When  his  work  and  the 
influence  around  him  make  him  forget  God  and 
home  and  all  that  is  pure  and  elevating,  he  becomes 
like  any  other  depraved  specimen  of  humanity.  But 
when  his  work  and  the  influences  around  him  make 
him  think  of  God  and  home  and  that  which  is  pure 
and  elevating,  he  realizes  his  opportunities,  and  that 
he  has  a soul  like  other  men.  Under  these  circum- 
stances he  is  generous,  intelligent,  and  faithful,  and 
has  few  superiors  as  a citizen,  father,  or  friend. 

Sunday  work  in  mining  is  demoralizing,  degrad- 
ing, and  vicious  in  its  influence  on  those  employed. 

Sunday  rest  in  mining  is  elevating,  ennobling,  and 
Christianizing  in  its  effect. 

“ Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits.” 


SUNDAY  REST  IN  RAILWAY  TRAFFIC. 

E.  C.  BEACH  A 

DISCUSSION  of  Sunday  Rest  in  Railway  Trans- 
portation will  be  profitless  if  a degree  of  tol- 
eration be  not  exercised.  Due  consideration  must 
be  given  commercial  and  social  conditions  involved. 
A dogmatic  and  ultra  position  respecting  Sunday 
observance  may  become  a hindrance  to  practical 
and  rational  conclusions,  and  prevent  adjustment  to 
changing  conditions. 

1 The  views  presented  in  this  paper  have  the  approval,  it  is  under- 
stood, of  the  managers  of  the  Penn.  R.R.  Lines,  and  the  writer 
appeared  in  the  Congress  as  their  representative.  — Ed. 


64 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


America’s  social  and  political  characteristics  and 
her  railway  enterprises  are  correlated  ; rightly  to  un- 
derstand the  latter  we  need  to  give  due  consideration 
to  the  former.  Honest  investigation  in  the  light  of 
mutual  relationship  will  lead  to  reciprocal  confidence, 
promote  mutual  prosperity,  and  have  a conserving  in- 
fluence on  both  the  body  politic  and  railway  interests. 

At  the  advent  of  the  locomotive  in  1829,  and  the 
completion  of  twenty-three  miles  of  iron  highway  in 
1830,  our  fathers  were  dependent  upon  the  water-ways 
and  turnpikes  as  channels  of  transit.  The  habits  of 
the  people  were  either  determined  by  heredity  on 
the  one  hand,  or  means  and  facilities  of  living  on  the 
other.  Domestic  affairs  and  intercourse  were  adjusted 
to  existing  facilities  for  travel,  intercommunication, 
and  commercial  exchange. 

Sunday  rest  and  observance  at  that  time  was  not 
subject  to  the  minimizing  alternatives  we  meet  with 
to-day  ; yet  it  would  be  presumptuous  to  say  that  the 
old-time  observance  was  attended  with  more  reli- 
gious and  physical  benefits  than  are  received  under 
the  liberal  Christian  practice  of  the  present.  Exi- 
gencies requiring  the  use  of  Sunday  for  travel  and 
the  transportation  of  commodities,  existing  in  our 
day,  were  not  encountered  in  their  day,  by  reason  of 
the  non-existence  of  facilities. 

The  introduction  of  new  agencies  was  timely. 
Here  were  States  whose  material  and  moral  devel- 
opment was  being  slowly  and  laboriously  wrought ; 
vast  territories,  richer  in  soil  and  dormant  resources, 
awaiting  reclamation  at  the  hands  of  civilization. 
But  a potent  agency  had  been  introduced,  which, 
employed  by  the  energy  and  intrepid  enterprise  of 
her  sons,  was  to  accomplish  more  within  a given 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS.  6$ 

time  than  the  most  visionary  advocates  of  railway 
construction  had  foreseen. 

The  new  medium  of  transit,  however,  was  costly 
and  beyond  the  financial  ability  of  the  infant  Repub- 
lic. Whence  should  come  the  fabulous  sums  needful 
to  construction  in  area  of  such  proportions  ? We  may 
well  be  proud  of  the  confidence  in  the  stability  of  Our 
institutions  and  the  integrity  of  the  American  peo- 
ple and  the  resources  of  our  vast  continent,  indicated 
by  the  thousands  of  millions  of  dollars  invested  by 
our  British  cousins  and  the  capitalists  of  Continen- 
tal Europe,  in  our  railroads.  It  was  necessary  that 
capital  be  combined  and  applied  by  the  exercise  of 
functions  and  privileges  conferred  upon  corporations 
under  sanction  of  the  federal  constitution  and  by  en- 
actment of  the  legislative  bodies.  These  were  the 
outgrowth  of  Christian  civilization,  statesmanship, 
and  economics. 

The  logical  deduction  is  this  : the  failure  of  either 
railroad  corporations  or  the  people  to  maintain  cor- 
rect relations  and  repress  corruption  and  the  misuse 
of  prerogative,  will  react  disastrously.  If  the  body 
politic  and  its  administration  of  public  affairs  be  just, 
railway  corporations  will  be  likewise. 

During  the  first  decade  of  railway  construction  and 
operation,  the  effect  upon  trade  relations  and  social 
and  domestic  affairs  was  limited. 

In  1840  there  had  been  constructed  2,118  miles, 
seaboard  cities  and  immediate  interior  being  affected 
thereby.  But  little  change  as  to  Sunday  usage  had 
occurred  at  the  close  of  the  second  decade,  1850, 
when  we  had  9,021  miles  in  operation,  notwithstand- 
ing marked  changes  had  taken  place  in  other  partic- 
ulars. However,  in  the  fourth  decade,  when  railway 


66 


SUNDAY  REST 


construction  had  reached  52,915  miles,  and  we  had  a 
line  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  individual  and 
public  exigencies  were  more  apparent,  and  demands 
upon  railway  management  for  increase  of  Sunday 
service  for  both  passengers  and  freight  became  ur- 
gent. 

The  use  of  Sunday  as  an  operating  day  increased 
in  extent,  as  to  the  number  of  employees  involved,  as 
the  centre  of  railway  mileage  moved  westward  and 
population  increased. 

According  to  reliable  authority,  the  point  of  mileage 
equilibrity  has  been  as  follows:  In  1840,  at  Mauch 
Chunk,  Pa.,  with  2,818  miles;  in  1850,  at  Williams- 
port, Pa.,  with  9,021  miles;  in  i860,  at  Mansfield, 
Ohio,  with  30,635  miles  ; in  1870,  at  Paulding,  Ohio, 
with  52,914  miles  ; in  1880,  thirty  miles  north-west 
of  Logansport,  Ind.,  with  93,296  miles;  in  1890,  at 
Pontiac,  111.,  with  166,700  miles,  having  deflected 
north  slightly.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  with  196,000 
miles,  the  centre  of  mileage  is  to-day  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  Peoria,  111.  This  demonstrates  the 
magnitude  of  the  railway  system  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, the  longitudinal  extension  of  lines,  and  the 
extent  of  lateral  feeders  or  connections. 

The  urgency  for  quick  transit  to  seaboard  and 
interior  markets  increased  with  the  distance  to  be 
traversed. 

Among  the  commercial  changes  evolved  within 
the  period  covered,  is  one  of  peculiar  significance; 
viz.,  railroad  facilities  reduced  the  time"  required  in 
reaching  markets  from  weeks,  if  not  months,  to  days, 
and  enabled  the  mercantile  and  shipping  public  to  do 
vastly  more  business  on  the  same  amount  of  capital. 
Merchants,  instead  of  being  compelled  to  lay  in  large 


I ND US 7 RIAL  RELATIONS. 


67 


stocks  of  goods,  could  buy  only  what  the  immediate 
demands  of  trade  required,  as  orders  could  be  speed- 
ily duplicated.  Shippers,  instead  of  having  large  sums 
tied  up  in  products  for  long  periods,  found  quick  re- 
turns. This  factor  in  mercantile  affairs  lost  none  of 
its  potency  as  railway  development  went  on,  and 
competition  in  trade  increased,  and  profit  margins 
measurably  decreased.  In  this  we  find  the  prime 
cause  of  the  demands  for  quicker  freight  transit, 
involving  the  use  of  Sunday. 

That  railroad  managers  yielded  to  the  pressure  is 
not  surprising,  in  view  of  the  desperate  character  of 
competition  at  that  time,  due  largely  to  adroit  prac- 
tices resorted  to  by  shippers  for  securing  concessions 
from  tariff  rates,  which  caused  such  a degree  of  sus- 
picion and  lack  of  unity  on  the  part  of  carrying  lines, 
as  to  render  resistance  ineffectual,  if  not  impossible. 
Perhaps  those  making  the  demand  did  not  consider 
themselves  instrumental  in  depriving  a large  number 
of  railway  men  of  Sunday  privileges  ; in  fact,  may 
have  been  influenced  by  the  fallacy  that  “ corpora- 
tions are  soulless  that  consequently  no  moral  re- 
sponsibility rested  upon  any  one,  unless  it  might  be 
railroad  employees,  who  were  at  liberty  to  refuse  to 
do  Sunday  work.  Evidently  the  companies  are  not 
entirely  to  blame  ; indeed,  they  may  claim  that  the 
burden  of  responsibility  rests  elsewhere,  inasmuch 
as  railroad  corporations  are  created  by  the  common- 
wealth, and  are  performing  a service  originally  de- 
manded by  the  commercial  public,  from  which  no 
protest  against  the  particular  Sunday  service  referred 
to  is  had.  There  is  a demoralizing  tendency  con- 
nected with  continuous  work  seven  days  in  the  week 
in  any  capacity,  especially  in  the  operation  of  railroads 


68 


SUNDAY  REST. 


and  as  to  freight-train  work.  Not  only  does  physical 
deficiency  result,  but  moral  depreciation  also,  as  a 
penalty  for  the  violation  of  nature’s  laws  and  neglect 
of  social  ethics.  The  effect  of  this  is  to  render  men 
less  hearty  in  the  performance  of  duty,  to  impair 
judgment,  to  create  a stolid  and  stubborn  disposition 
and  defective  sense  of  moral  responsibility  and  obli- 
gation,— a serious  condition  for  men  who  are  con- 
nected with  the  movement  of  trains  and  responsible 
for  life  and  property. 

Railway  management  is  substantially  a unit  re- 
specting Sunday  work,  claiming  to  do  no  more  on 
that  day  than  existing  conditions  absolutely  require. 
But  it  must  be  said  that  Sunday  train  work,  and 
other  labor  contingent  thereto,  may  be  much  further 
limited,  affording  Sunday  rest  to  thousands  of  men. 
Enginemen  and  trainmen  being  remarkably  loyal  to 
their  families,  who  can  determine  the  full  signifi- 
cance of  the  recoupment  by  these  men,  resulting 
from  a day  of  rest,  worship  in  the  sanctuary,  and  a 
Sunday  dinner  at  home  with  the  loved  ones?  To 
secure  the  desired  curtailment,  public  sentiment  and 
the  moral  attitude  of  shippers  must  be  such  as  to 
warrant  the  action  necessary  on  the  part  of  railroad 
corporations. 

Particular  attention  has  been  given  to  men  in 
freight-train  service,  for  the  following  reasons  : The 
greater  number  engaged,  and  the  seeming  practica- 
bility of  further  reduction  of  Sunday  freight  trains, 
and  the  remote  possibility  of  any  material  restriction 
of  passenger  trains.  Sunday  rest  is  more  important 
in  relation  to  freight-train  crews,  inasmuch  as  they 
have  no  fixed  tenure  of  rest  during  the  week,  the 
prevailing  rule  being,  “ First  in,  first  out,”  and  the 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


69 


lay-over  is  contingent  upon7  the  volume  of  business 
moving.  The  busy  season  with  all  our  great  systems 
is  of  long  duration,  and  men  are  frequently  taxed  to 
the  maximum  of  physical  endurance. 

A certain  extent  of  Sunday  work  being  absolutely 
necessary,  we  have  the  following  practicable  mini- 
mum : — 

First : Trains  for  perishable  freight,  live-stock, 
and  special  shipments  of  urgent  character,  which,  if 
stopped  *en  route,  would  cause  loss  ; and  such  addi- 
tional trains,  at  certain  seasons,  as  may  be  necessary 
to  prevent  blockade  of  tracks  at  principal  junction 
and  relay  points  on  the  line. 

Second  : Through  mail  service,  and  trains  for  the 
completion  of  interstate  passage,  and  to  accommo- 
date travel  made  necessary  by  individual  exigencies. 

Third  : Such  work  in  the  mechanical  and  main- 
tenance of  way  departments  as  cannot  be  done  on 
a week-day  without  serious  interruption  to  traffic. 

As  already  intimated,  the  demands  of  consignors 
and  consignees  for  rapid  movement,  dictated  by 
commercial  considerations,  has  the  effect,  under  the 
influence  of  sharp  competition  and  the  law  of  self- 
preservation,  to  cause  railroad  management  to  treat 
freight  of  no  special  urgency,  other  than  additional 
profit  to  the  shippers,  as  special,  and  give  such  prop- 
erty Sunday  movement,  to  hurry  it  to  destination. 
This  hinders  a close  adherence  to  the' minimum. 
Though  a manager  may  sin  in  this  particular,  is  he 
the  chief  sinner  ? He  does  not  affect  the  attitude  of 
the  Pharisee,  and  thank  God  that  he  is  not  as  other 
men  are  ; neither  does  he  smite  his  breast  in  peni- 
tential emphasis,  and  go  down  to  his  house  justified, 
as  did  the  publican,  but  remands  to  the  public  its 


70 


SUNDAY  REST 


share  of  guilt,  standing  ready  to  co-operate  in  mak- 
ing justification  complete.  If  this  seems  paradoxi- 
cal, then  why  not  say,  “ The  manager  went  down  to 
his  house  justified  by  public  judgment.” 

Thinking  people  will  concede  that  Sunday  trains 
carrying  the  fresh  meats  from  Chicago,  St.  Louis, 
and  Kansas  City,  that  help  supply  the  daily  wants  of 
millions  of  people  at  home  and  abroad,  — trains  for 
live-stock,  and  those  transporting  the  early  fruits 
and  vegetables  that  supply  our  tables,  are  indispen- 
sable, and  that  abandonment  of  such  service  would  be 
inhuman.  The  daily  wants  of  our  great  cities  in  the 
East  can  no  longer  be  supplied  from  contiguous 
sources  ; the  same  is  true  of  Europe  and  Great 
Britain.  Therefore  it  is  impossible  to  observe  Sun- 
day to  the  same  extent  as  in  the  primitive  days  of 
railway  transportation. 

Admitting  this  to  be  at  the  moral,  spiritual,  and 
physical  detriment  of  the  men  engaged,  what  means 
are  employed  by  railways  to  retrieve  these  losses  ? 
Upon  all  the  great  systems  handling  these  perish- 
able products,  there  will  be  found  at  the  principal 
centres  and  relay  points,  commodious  and  attractive 
buildings,  containing  reading,  amusement,  bath,  and 
rest  rooms  ; in  fact,  a complete  club-house,  minus 
liquors,  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  a gen- 
eral secretary,  and  the  administration  of  the  Railway 
Department  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  International  Com- 
mittee. The  year-book  for  1893,  published  by  the 
Committee,  reports  96  Associations,  with  a total 
membership  of  22,562.  Buildings  valued  at  $261,- 
000  are  owned  or  set  aside  for  Association  work. 
These  contain  74  libraries,  with  a total  of  48,975 
volumes.  The  sick  and  injured  are  not  forgotten,  as 


INDUSTRIAL  DLL  A LIONS. 


71 


12,898  visits  were  made  to  such.  The  religious  and 
spiritual  needs  of  men  were  not  neglected,  as  the 
total  attendance  at  men’s  Sunday  meetings  was 
96,055,  and  at  Bible  study  11,129.  The  social  and 
intellectual  side  has  been  cared  for,  312  sociables 
and  entertainments,  and  333  lectures  having  been 
given.  Care  of  the  bodies  of  railroad  employees  is 
provided  for,  demonstrated  by  253,636  baths  taken. 
These  Associations  are  largely  supported  by  railway 
companies. 

It  can  truly  be  said  that  the  deterioration  that 
otherwise  would  have  resulted  from  the  causes  re- 
ferred to,  has  been  in  a measure  stayed  or  counter- 
acted. Men  scarcely  dreamed  of  such  facilities  in 
the  second  or  third  decade  of  railroad  history  ; in 
fact,  at  that  period  there  were  very  few  men  of  ex- 
emplary character  and  professed  Christians  on  any 
of  the  lines  ; to-day  they  are  numerous. 

In  reference  to  the  Sunday  work  minimum  here 
given,  it  should  be  remarked  that  during  certain 
periods,  or  when  crops  are  moving,  traffic  becomes 
excessive,  and  a certain  number  of  freight  trains 
must  be  run  on  Sunday  to  prevent  blockading  at 
main  points  of  relay  and  concentration.  There  is 
no  apparent  remedy  for  this,  owing  to  commercial 
conditions  attending  the  marketing  of  each  recurring 
grain  harvest  in  the  great  West.  The  state  of  the 
market,  the  ability  and  disposition  of  producers  to 
sell  at  once,  or  hold  their  products  indefinitely,  are 
elements  of  uncertainty.  The  equipment  necessary 
to  fully  meet  the  emergency  and  enable  the  lines  to 
avoid  the  use  of  Sunday,  would  require  an  enormous 
expenditure,  and  the  capital  thus  invested  would  be 
non-productive  from  six  to  nine  months  of  the  year, 


72 


SUNDA  Y REST, \ 


as  the  equipment  would  be  in  excess  of  current 
needs,  and,  consequently,  idle  during  that  time.  It 
is  not  impossible  that  there  may  come  a change  in 
trade  relations,  by  which  the  movement  of  grain  will 
be  governed  by  the  law  of  natural  demand  solely,  and 
artificial  influences  eliminated ; in  which  case  the 
handling  would  be  more  equally  distributed  in  point 
of  time.  Such  a consummation,  however,  at  present 
seems  remote. 

Another  class  of  Sunday  work  is  that  performed 
in  the  yards  of  all  our  great  cities  and  their  immediate 
environs.  Freight  trains  arriving  on  Saturday  night 
must  be  taken  care  of,  and  the  cars  shifted  to  vari- 
ous sidings  and  places  of  delivery  on  Sunday ; other- 
wise the  possibility  of  thousands  of  men  being  idle 
on  Monday.  The  minimum  provides  further,  as  you 
will  have  noticed,  for  passenger  trains  carrying  the 
United  States  mail ; also  for  travel  dictated  by  indi- 
vidual exigencies.  On  each  recurring  Sunday,  events 
of  pathetic  nature  and  unusual  urgency,  warranting 
travel  on  the  Lord’s  day,  confront  a certain  number  of 
our  fellow-citizens.  The  failure  to  provide  trains  for 
the  accommodation  of  such  would  be  considered  heart- 
less. Doubtless  these  trains  are  availed  of  by  people 
who  travel  on  that  day  for  convenience,  profit,  and 
pleasure ; however,  it  would  be  a delicate  matter  to 
undertake  to  determine  the  ratio  of  these.  Any  at- 
tempt to  ascertain  the  cause  or  motive  for  travelling 
on  Sunday  trains  thus  provided  for,  would  not  only 
be  regarded  as  impertinent,  but  an  interference  with 
private  rights,  and  an  assumption  of  unwarranted 
authority. 

If  any  reduction  in  the  number  of  Sunday  passen- 
ger trains  is  secured,  it  must  be  by  an  awakening  of 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS . 


73 


the  public  conscience  to  such  a degree  as  to  restrict 
travel  to  cases  of  extreme  urgency,  in  which  event,  it 
might  be  ascertained  that  a less  number  of  Sunday 
trains  than  are  now  scheduled  on  all  the  important 
systems  would  satisfy  the  needs  of  the  public  and 
the  postal  service. 

To  the  end  that  this  paper  might  not  contain  state- 
ments unsupported  by  facts,  and  believing  that  the 
managers  would  cordially  answer  inquiries  as  to  the 
practice  pursued  on  their  lines,  a communication  was 
addressed  to  such  officer  of  each  of  the  principal  rail- 
ways of  the  country,  asking  a reply  to  the  following 
questions  : — 

1.  Have  you  in  effect  any  regulations  or  rules  respect- 

ing abandonment  of  certain  trains  on  Sunday,  and 
if  so,  on  what  date  did  they  go  into  effect,  and 
how  regarded  by  employees  affected  ? (A  copy 
of  the  rules  would  be  appreciated.) 

2.  What  is  the  approximate  average  per  cent  of  trains 

moved  on  Sunday,  to  .the  average  handled  on 
work  days,  and  what  number  of  employees,  train- 
men, and  those  whose  work  is  contingent  thereto, 
are  given  Sunday  rest  ? 

3.  Does  the  rest  thus  available  alternate  in  your  train 

force  irrespectively,  or  do  you  aim  to  lay  off  on 
Sunday  only  such  men  as  seem  to  properly  ap- 
preciate the  same,  and  who  have  families  ? 

4.  Have  you  observed  any  improvement  in  the  physi- 

cal and  moral  condition  of  employees  since  receiv- 
ing a Sunday  rest  ? 

5.  Have  you  been  able  to  move  the  heavy  traffic  of 

1892-93,  by  using  six  working  days,  without  your 
line  becoming  blockaded  at  some  point  ? 


74 


SUNDA  Y REST 


6.  In  your  opinion,  is  it  possible  to  accomplish  cur- 

rently the  movement  of  as  much  tonnage  by 
resting  one  day  in  seven,  as  by  the  use  of  it  as 
an  operating  day  ? 

7.  Do  shippers  and  consignees,  respecting  time  allowed 

for  the  movement  of  products  and  merchandise 
other  than  perishable,  concede  one  day  out  of 
seven  for  rest,  without  complaint  ? 

8.  Does  suspension  of  Sunday  work  result  in  loss  or 

gain  respecting  operating  expenses. 

9.  What  do  you  regard  as  the  most  serious  obstacle  to 

a restriction  of  train  movements  on  Sunday  to  the 
minimum  above  given  ? 

The  lines  communicated  with  embraced  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  thousand  of  the  one  hundred  and 
ninety-six  thousand  miles  of  rail  line  in  operation. 
There  was  no  apparent  necessity  for  extending  the 
inquiry  to  less  important  railways,  inasmuch  as  by 
nature  of  position  in  the  general  system  it  could  be 
assumed  that  no  occasion  existed  with  such  for  Sun- 
day work  in  excess  of  the  minimum.  Many  of  the 
managers  have  replied  to  these  inquiries  with  candor 
and  courtesy,  imparting  much  valuable  and  interest- 
ing information  ; the  limit  of  this  paper,  however, 
compels  the  selection  of  such  as  from  their  geograph- 
ical and  commercial  relations  to  the  continent  will 
best  convey  the  practice  generally  prevailing,  and  to 
present  these  in  somewhat  abbreviated  forms. 

It  is  a great  satisfaction  to  the  writer  that  these 
replies  not  only  accept  and  indorse  the  minimum 
presented,  but  even  go  further  in  the  advocacy  of 
Sunday  rest  in  railway  transportation. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


75 


In  these  communications,  the  figures  refer  to  the 
corresponding  numbers  of  the  questions  as  given 
above. 

Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company. 

S.  M.  Prevost,  General  Manager . 

(i.)  Local  freight  trains,  and  work  trains,  except  in 
case  of  emergency,  are  not  run  on  Sunday  ; a reduced 
number  of  passenger  trains  as  compared  with  week-days 
are  run  on  Sunday.  Slow  freight  — i.e.,  all  freight  other 
than  live-stock  and  perishable  — is  only  run  on  Sunday  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  enable  the  crews  to  reach  their  homes, 
or  to  enable  the  lines  to  be  operated  without  blockade. 

(2.)  For  nine  months  of  the  year  the  Sunday  movement 
on  the  main  line  between  Pittsburg  and  Jersey  City  is 
about  twenty-five  to  fifty  per  cent  of  the  average  on  work 
days ; a force  barely  sufficient  to  make  the  necessary  run- 
ning repairs  to  locomotives  is  employed  in  the  shops  and 
round-houses  on  Sundays. 

(3.)  The  requests  of  employees  to  lay  off  on  Sundays 
are  cheerfully  complied  with  when  the  movement  over 
the  road  will  permit. 

(4.)  We  believe  that  the  condition  of  our  employees 
generally  is  rather  better  when  receiving  Sunday  rest. 

(5.)  We  were  not  able  to  move  the  heavy  traffic  during 
the  winter  of  1892  and  1893  by  working  only  six  days, 
and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  we  avoided  blockades  on 
our  lines  by  working  seven  days  ; this  was  due  to  the 
severe  winter  and  to  its  peculiar  severity  on  our  Penn. 
R.  R.  Division  crossing  the  mountains.1 

1 The  period  referred  to  by  General  Manager  Prevost,  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  and  its  system  east  of  Pittsburg,  and  General  Manager  Wood,  of 
Pennsylvania  lines  west  of  Pittsburg,  was  the  most  remarkable  in  the  history 
of  railway  operation  in  America,  as  to  the  volume  of  traffic  and  the  congested 
condition  of  the  lines. 

The  Pennsylvania  systems  were  not  an  exception,  but  all  the  trunk  lines 


76 


SUNDA  Y REST 


(6.)  It  is  only  possible  to  accomplish  currently  the 
movement  of  as  much  tonnage  by  resting  one  day  in 
seven  when  all  the  conditions  are  favorable ; that  is  to 
say,  when  the  weather,  both  inland  and  at  our  seaboard 
and  lake  terminals,  is  favorable,  and  the  loading  and  un- 
loading of  our  cars  and  their  movement  over  our  lines  are 
working  at  all  points  with  about  a uniform  rapidity. 

(7.)  I do  not  think  that  shippers  and  consignees  are 
prepared  to  make  any  allowance  for  any  delays  in  the 
movement  of  their  products. 

(8.)  Suspension  of  Sunday  work  is  a gain  in  reference 
to  operating  expenses  ; when  it  becomes  necessary  to  run 
to  a greater  extent  than  fifty  per  cent  on  Sundays,  it  is 
done  with  the  full  knowledge  that,  so  far  as  the  movement 
itself  is  concerned,  it  is  being  done  at  a loss  in  economy. 

(9.)  The  most  serious  obstacle  to  a restriction  of  train 
movement  on  Sunday  is  the  weather.  On  all  of  the  lines, 
other  than  the  line  between  Pittsburg  and  Jersey  City, 
we  are  usually  able  to  suspend  the  movement  of  slow 
freight  throughout  the  year,  with  the  exception  of  so  much 
of  it  as  will  enable  our  train  crews  to  reach  their  homes. 
As  a rule,  the  employees  on  all  of  these  lines,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  main  line  above  referred  to,  have  an  oppor- 
tunity for  a reasonable  amount  of  Sunday  rest  for  about 
nine  months  of  the  year  ; during  the  other  three  months 
their  opportunities  for  rest  are  dependent  upon  whether 
the  lines  are  crowded  with  freight  or  not,  and  that  condi- 
tion of  affairs  which  arises  from  the  weather. 

were  similarly  affected.  With  the  immediate  connections  of  these,  the  situation 
west  of  Pittsburg  and  Buffalo  was  very  serious.  Thousands  of  cars  loaded 
with  various  commodities  filled  sidings  and  yards  at  junction  and  relay  points. 
More  or  less  perplexity  was  caused  shippers  and  consignees  by  reason  of  in- 
ability to  realize  on  property  thus  delayed ; the  railroads,  also,  had  vast  sums 
tied  up  in  freight  charges.  The  work  of  relieving  the  situation  seemed  a 
superhuman  task,  and  its  accomplishment  with  as  little  loss  as  resulted  to 
the  shipping  public,  should  be  regarded  as  an  evidence  of  skill  and  an  ex- 
ample of  loyalty  in  the  operating  forces  worthy  of  special  notice  by  the  public, 
as  well  as  railway  owners.  E.  C.  B. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


77 


N.  Y.  Central  & H.  R.  R.  R.  Co. 

John  M.  Toucey,  General  Manager . 

There  can  be  no  Sunday  rest  for  a railroad,  any  more 
than  for  a steamship  going  from  New  York  to  Liverpool. 
Freight  starts  from  the  West,  destined  for  a foreign  port, 
to  catch  certain  steamers  which  start  on  certain  days.  If 
stopped  on  the  way,  the  steamer  is  missed  and  damages 
for  delay  are  asked  for.  All  the  local  freight  business 
upon  the  line  ceases  Saturday  night,  and  is  not  taken  up 
again  until  Monday  morning,  also  the  majority  of  our 
local  passenger  trains  ; but  a great  many  passenger  trains 
have  to  be  run  at  the  demand  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, most  all  of  which  carry  mails. 

In  regard  to  passengers  upon  through  trains,  it  is  a 
good  deal  like  the  freight  on  freight  trains.  When  a pas- 
senger starts  from  his  initial  point,  he  may  not  be  able  to 
leave  until  late  in  the  week,  and  is  desirous  of  coming 
right  through.  Business  calls  him,  for  instance,  in  New 
York  on  Monday  morning,  and  it  would  not  be  judicious 
to  stop  the  train  on  the  line  at  twelve  o’clock  Saturday 
night  and  hold  it  until  twelve  o’clock  Sunday  night. 

The  majority  of  our  freight  stations,  except  the  ter- 
minal ones,  like  New  York  and  Buffalo,  are  quiet  over 
Sunday  ; but  at  large  terminal  points  where  freight  is 
coming  in  to  us,  and  freight  is  being  urged  for  delivery 
to  steamers,  etc.,  it  is  impossible  to  suspend  the  work. 

The  machine  is  wound  up,  and  it  must  continue  to  go. 
I like  rest  on  Sundays,  and  wish  we  could  give  it  to  every 
employee  on  the  road ; but  the  demands  of  the  public  and 
the  business  are  such  that  we  cannot,  only  to  a certain 
extent,  which  I have  named. 


78 


SUNDAY  REST. 


Baltimore  & Ohio  R.  R.  Co. 

J.  T.  Odell,  General  Manager, 

(i.)  We  have  certain  trains  that  run  daily,  and  others 
that  run  daily  except  Sunday. 

A majority  of  the  employees  prefer  to  labor  Sunday 
and  make  the  time;  but  of  course  there  are  a number  who 
do  not  wish  to  do  that,  and  in  such  cases  they  have  no 
trouble  whatever  in  exchanging  duties  with  parties  who  do 
not  object. 

(2.)  The  average  number  of  trains  run  on  Sunday  va- 
ries upon  different  divisions  in  a large  system  like  this.  At 
large  terminals  business  practically  ceases  at  four  o’clock 
Saturday  afternoon.  If  the  traffic  be  from  Chicago,  the 
haul  over  the  Chicago  division  will  be  on  Saturday  night 
and  on  Sunday,  leaving  Monday  on  the  Chicago  divis- 
ion comparatively  a light  day  and  consequently  a time 
wherein  the  employees  take  their  rest.  And  the  same 
conditions  exist  out  of  other  large  terminals,  the  move- 
ment being  somewhat  analogous  to  waves  that,  starting 
from  either  point  Saturday,  create  a large  flow  for  a 
time,  leaving  behind  them  a depression  covering  one 
day. 

(5.)  It  would  hardly  have  been  practical  or  economical 
to  have  moved  the  heavy  traffic  of  1892-93  in  six  working 
days,  for  the  reasons  that  some  Sundays  we  have  had 
more  perishable  freight  to  move  than  on  week-days,  and 
the  dead  freight  would  accumulate  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  keep  us  busy  the  seven  days  of  the  week. 

(7.)  Shippers  do  not  concede  any  day  for  rest,  or,  for 
that  matter,  any  hours ; whether  their  freight  be  dead  or 
perishable,  they  ask  despatch, 

(9.)  The  most  serious  obstacle  to  the  restriction  of 
train  movements  on  Sunday  to  a minimum,  is  the  pressure 
of  the  outside  public  for  service ; and,  so  far  as  I have  per- 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


79 


sonally  observed,  it  is  as  liable  to  come  from  the  church- 
going  class  as  any  other. 

Were  it  possible,  however,  to  practically  arrange  so  that 
Sunday  service  should  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  minimum, 
and  only  those  trains  run  that  were  indispensable  to  hu- 
manity, I am  sure  no  one  would  more  gladly  acquiesce  in 
the  consummation  than  the  railway  management  and  em- 
ployees generally. 


Delaware,  Lackawanna,  & W.  R.  R.  Co. 

W.  F.  Halstead,  General  Manager. 

It  has  always  been,  and  is  now,  the  policy  of  this  com- 
pany to  do  as  little  work  and  run  as  few  trains  on  Sunday 
as  practicable.  Our  business  is  very  largely  the  trans- 
portation of  coal,  and  we  run  none  of  these  trains  on 
Sunday.  We  run  no  trains  that  can  be  termed  Sunday 
passenger  trains.  Perishable  freight,  milk,  and  live-stock 
trains  we  do  run. 


Penn.  Lines  West  of  Pittsburg. 

Joseph  Wood,  General  Manager . 

(i.)  All  local  freight  and  passenger  trains,  except 
church  trains,  which  are  run  in  and  out  of  principal  cities, 
such  as  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  and  Chicago,  are  sus- 
pended. On  the  main  line  divisions,  only  enough  freight 
trains  are  run  to  clear  all  the  yards ; this  of  course  varies 
with  the  business.  In  some  seasons  of  the  year  the  busi- 
ness is  practically  suspended,  while  at  other  times  there 
is  a very  heavy  movement.  Our  experience  is  that  em- 
ployees prefer  to  have  their  Sunday  rest  at  home  whenever 
it  is  possible. 

(2.)  Percentage  varies  from  month  to  month,  and  from 
week  to  week,  depending  wholly  on  the  traffic. 


8o 


SUNDA  Y REST 


(3.)  Freight-train  crews  all  run  first  in,  first  out,  and 
each  take  their  chances  of  Sunday  rest. 

(4.)  So  far  as  advised  there  is  no  special  change. 

(5.)  The  traffic  in  the  latter  part  of  1892  and  early 
part  of  1893  could  not  have  been  moved  by  working  six 
days  in  the  week ; and  had  this  practice  been  pursued  the 
situation  would  have  been  even  more  complicated  than  it 
was.  The  regular  power  and  crews  were  working  to  their 
maximum  for  six  days,  and  on  the  seventh,  or  Sunday,  all 
of  the  local  freight  and  work  train  engines,  together  with 
extra  train  crews,  were  utilized  in  moving  traffic  from  one 
division  to  another. 

(6.)  Were  the  business  uniform  during  the  entire 
twelve  months  of  the  year,  it  might  be  possible  to  arrange 
matters  so  as  to  accomplish  as  much  in  six  days  as  is 
ordinarily  accomplished  by  working  the  entire  seven  days; 
but,  as  stated  in  answer  to  previous  inquiry,  the  business 
is  of  such  a variable  character,  that  it  would  be  wholly 
impracticable,  and  in  my  judgment  almost  impossible,  to 
attempt  during  the  busy  season  to  crowd  the  work  of 
seven  days  into  six  days  without  very  seriously  affecting 
the  movement  and  causing  blockades. 

(7.)  Shippers  and  consignees  make  no  allowance  in 
through  freight  movement  on  Sunday. 

(8.)  The  suspension  of  work  on  Sunday  does  not 
practically  affect  operating  expenses,  for  the  reason  that 
all  engine  and  train  crews  are  paid  by  the  trip,  and  the 
same  number  of  trips  would  be  necessary  whether  the 
business  is  done  in  six  or  seven  days. 

(9.)  The  most  serious  obstacle  to  a further  restriction 
of  through  train  movement  on  Sunday  is  the  variable 
character  of  the  traffic.  A rule  that  might  be  enforced 
during  the  spring  months  would  not  be  applicable  during 
the  season  of  lake  navigation  ; and  then,  again,  any  rules 
that  might  be  adopted  for  through  train  movement  during 
the  spring  and  summer  would  have  to  be  entirely  changed 
for  the  winter  months. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS . 


8 I 


On  some  divisions,  other  than  the  main  line  ones,  the 
rule  is  to  observe  the  Sabbath  in  respect  to  train  service, 
and  only  such  trains  are  run  on  these  divisions  as  are 
necessary  to  handle  perishable  freight  or  to  move  power 
from  one  end  of  the  division  to  the  other,  where  it  may 
be  available  for  service  Monday  morning. 

C.  C.  C.  & St.  L.  R.  R.  Co. 

J.  Q.  Van  Winkle. 

(i.)  We  schedule  only  such  passenger  and  freight 
trains  on  Sunday  as  are  absolutely  necessary  to  handle 
the  business.  There  is  no  special  order  about  it.  We 
give  as  many  of  our  employees  their  Sundays  as  possible. 

(2.)  I can  hardly  approximate  the  average  per  cent,  as 
we  run  more  freight  trains  on  Sunday  during  some  periods 
than  others. 

(3.)  Sunday  rest  does  not  alternate  from  the  fact  that 
none  of  our  local  freight  trains  (and  a great  many  of 
our  local  passenger  trains),  run  on  Sunday.  These  trains 
have  regular  crews,  who  get  their  rest  every  Sunday.  In 
the  through  freight  and  passenger  service,  Sunday  rest 
alternates  irrespectively.  Crews  run,  first  in,  first  out, 
and  get  the  Sunday  rest  whenever  it  falls  to  them. 

(4.)  The  practice  of  giving  as  many  of  our  men  as  pos- 
sible their  Sundays  has  been  in  effect  so  long,  we  have 
nothing  by  which  to  make  a comparison. 

(5.)  We  have  not  at  all  times  been  able  to  move  the 
traffic  by  using  six  working  days ; on  the  contrary,  there 
are  periods  when  it  is  necessary  to  use  every  available 
engine  and  crew  in  freight  service  on  Sunday,  to  keep  our 
line  open. 

(6.)  I do  not  think  it  possible  to  accomplish  as  much 
work  in  six  days  as  can  be  done  in  seven  ; on  the  con- 
trary, when  there  is  a heavy  traffic  the  movement  on 
Sunday  is  generally  very  satisfactory,  as  the  local  freight 


8 2 


SUNDAY  REST. 


trains  and  some  of  the  passenger  trains  are  out  of  the 
way,  and  through  freight  trains  make  good  time.  Our 
employees  do  not  object  to  such  service  in  emergencies. 

(7.)  Shippers  and  consignees  as  a rule  concede  noth- 
ing. An  explanation  that  we  laid  their  freight  up  on 
Sunday  to  give  the  men  a rest  would  not  be  satisfactory. 

(8.)  The  operating  expenses  on  Sunday  are  the  same  as 
on  other  days. 

(9.)  The  general  public  is  exacting,  and  expects  about 
the  same  service  on  Sunday  as  other  days. 

Vandalia  Line. 

Jas.  Hill,  Assistant  General  Manager . 

(1.)  We  have  had  for  several  years  a general  under- 
standing that  train  movement  on  Sundays  shall  be  re- 
stricted in  so  far  as  it  can  be  done  and  move  the  traffic 
satisfactorily.  We  have  no  set  rules  formulated,  but  the 
principle  is  observed  in  scheduling  trains ; most  of  the 
local  passenger  trains  and  the  larger  proportion  of  freight 
trains  being  scheduled  to  run  daily  except  Sunday. 

(2.)  The  percentage  of  train  movement  on  Sunday  to 
that  on  week-days  depends  upon  varying  circumstances. 
. . . On  the  main  line  there  are  eighteen  passenger 
trains  on  week-days,  six  of  which  do  not  run  on  Sunday. 
Two  of  the  twelve  run  on  Sunday  are  local.  All  of  the 
remainder  are  through  trains  running  over  other  roads 
than  ours.  Of  the  total  number  of  twenty-three  freight 
trains  on  the  main  line,  thirteen  do  not  run  on  Sunday. 
On  the  T.  H.  & L.  and  I.  & L.  M.  divisions  there  are 
four  passenger  and  ten  freight  trains,  none  of  which  run 
on  Sunday.  On  the  Peoria  division  there  are  six  pas- 
senger and  four  freight  trains,  none  of  them  running  on 
Sunday. 

(3.)  Our  train  crews  run  first  in,  first  out,  and  so  each 
in  turn  gets  the  benefit  of  Sunday  rest. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


83 


(4.)  I do  not  know.  There  has  been  some  improve- 
ment in  the  men  of  late  years,  but  is  probably  not  due  to 
any  one  cause.  I think  it  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  one 
day’s  rest  in  seven  is  beneficial. 

(5.)  Whenever  it  has  been  necessary  to  run  freight 
trains  on  Sunday,  we  have  always  done  so.  We  have 
never  attempted  to  demonstrate  whether  the  line  would  be 
blocked  if  we  did  not  run  trains  on  Sunday. 

(6.)  Highly  improbable  that  as  much  traffic  can  be 
moved  in  six  days  as  in  seven. 

(7.)  Shippers  and  consignees  expect  their  freight  to  be 
moved  promptly  ; and  in  the  majority  of  cases  I think  that 
they  would  not  accept  as  a valid  excuse  the  plea  that  the 
longer  time  by  one  line  than  by  another  was  caused  by 
the  observance  of  Sunday  on  the  line  taking  the  longer  to 
move  the  freight. 

(8.)  I cannot  answer  this  question.  I do  not  know. 

(9.)  The  most  serious  objection  that  occurs  to  me  to 
prevent  the  restriction  of  business  to  the  minimum  named, 
is  the  necessity  entailed  by  competition  of  moving  our 
freight  as  promptly  as  other  roads. 


The  Wabash  R.  R.  Co. 

Chas.  M.  Hays,  General  Manager . 

The  three  classes  of  work  which  you  specify  as  what 
should  comprise  the  maximum  of  Sunday  work,  constitute 
all  that  the  interests  of  transportation  require  in  this 
direction. 

(1.)  Such  trains  as  are  not  run  daily  are  designated  on 
the  face  of  the  time  cards,  and  under  the  numbers  assigned 
to  such  trains. 

(2.)  Eighty-five  passenger  trains  every  day,  and  eighty- 
one  daily  except  Sunday  — an  average  of  ninety-five  per 
cent  of  passenger  trains  moved  Sunday  to  the  average  of 
week-days. 


84 


SUNDAY  REST. 


We  move  daily  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  freight  trains, 
and  ninety-one  daily  except  Sunday,  an  average  of  sixty- 
seven  per  cent  of  freight  trains  moved  on  Sunday  to  the 
average  handled  on  work  days.  The  average  number  of 
train  men  who  are  thus  given  rest  on  Sunday  is  eight  hun- 
dred and  sixty. 

(3.)  The  rest  thus  available  alternates  with  our  train 
crews,  as  they  are  run  on  the  principle,  “ First  in,  first 
out.” 

(4.)  As  before  stated,  the  discontinuance  of  certain 
trains  on  Sunday  has  been  in  effect  so  long  on  this  road 
as  to  make  unnoticeable  any  improvement  in  physical 
or  moral  condition  of  employees. 

(5.)  This  company  was  able  to  move  the  heavy  traffic 
of  1892  and  1893  by  using  six  working  days,  without  our 
line  becoming  blockaded  at  any  point,  although  it  is  prob- 
able that  during  the  movement  of  the  heaviest  traffic  we 
ran  extra  sections  of  such  trains  as  run  daily. 

(6.)  Ordinarily,  I consider  it  possible  to  accomplish 
currently  the  movement  of  as  much  traffic  under  our 
present  practice  as  if  we  ran  all  trains  daily. 

(7.)  We  have  never  had  any  complaint  in  regard  to  the 
discontinuance  of  such  trains  as  run  daily  except  Sunday. 

(8.)  The  probability  is,  that  suspension  of  Sunday 
work  results  in  gain,  by  giving  the  men  a greater  oppor- 
tunity to  rest,  and  keeping  them  in  better  condition  for 
the  exacting  duties  of  train  service. 

(9.)  I do  not  know  of  any  serious  obstacle  to  restric- 
tion of  train  movements  on  the  basis  given. 


Illinois  Central  R.  R.  Co. 

S.  W.  Sullivan,  General  Superintendent. 

It  is  generally  desired  on  the  part  of  managing  officials 
of  American  Railways  to  allow  Sunday  as  a day  of  rest  in 
all  branches  of  the  service,  and  this  purpose  is  carried  out 


IND  US  TRIAL  RE  LA  TIOJVS . 8 5 

as  far  as  practicable,  consistent  with  the  necessities  of  the 
service. 

As  a general  rule,  all  railway  shops  are  closed  on  Sun- 
day, such  few  men  only  being  retained  on  duty  as  are 
required  to  guard  the  premises  and  perform  such  miscella- 
neous work  as  can  only  be  done  on  that  day. 

Track  work  and  bridge  work  is  in  a similar  manner  sus- 
pended on  Sundays,  a minimum  force  of  inspectors  and 
guards  being  retained  for  duty ; occasionally  a special 
force  is  employed  on  Sunday  to  perform  work  which  can- 
not be  done  during  the  week  without  interruption  to  traffic. 

In  the  transportation  department  there  is  not  the  same 
opportunity  for  cessation  of  work  upon  Sunday  as  in  other 
departments,  for  the  reason  that  through  train  movements, 
both  passenger  and  high  classes  of  freight,  such  as  perish- 
able, live-stock,  and  special  shipments  of  urgent  character, 
must  be  maintained.  Local  passenger  and  freight  service, 
however,  is  generally  suspended  on  Sunday. 

(i.)  We  have  no  rules  or  regulations  respecting  the 
abandonment  of  trains  on  Sundays,  other  than  shown  upon 
our  time-tables  by  the  words  “ Daily  ” where  trains  run 
every  day  in  the  week,  and  “ Except  Sunday  ” where 
trains  run  on  week-days  only. 

(2.)  On  an  average  there  are  a little  more  than  one- 
half  the  trains  run  on  Sundays,  and  about  one-half  of  the 
usual  force  employed. 

(3.)  With  train  forces  employed  in  regular  service,  the 
endeavor  is  to  alternate  those  employed  in  Sunday  work, 
so  that  the  men  in  the  course  of  a year  will  have  an  aver- 
age amount  of  Sunday  rest.  With  men  employed  in  regu- 
lar train  service  the  opportunities  for  Sunday  rest  come 
irregularly,  according  as  they  may  stand  on  the  list  at  the 
close  of  the  week ; but  it  is  quite  an  ordinary  practice  to 
excuse  those  who  wish  to  lay  off  on  Sundays,  more  espe- 
cially men  of  families,  and  allow  others  — generally  single 
men  — to  run  in  their  places,  many  of  whom  are  quite  will- 
ing to  do  so. 


86 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


(4.)  The  practice  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  specifica- 
tions has  been  the  established  rule  for  many  years.  It  is 
considered  as  a general  rule  that  employees  who  are 
allowed  Sunday  rest  will  do  better  work  during  the  other 
days  of  the  week,  than  if  required  to  work  continuously. 

(5.)  During  seasons  of  light  business  there  is  generally 
no  difficulty  in  moving  the  traffic  by  using  six  working 
days ; but  in  the  fall  and  winter  seasons,  when  business  is 
heavy,  there  is  generally  an  accumulation  .of  business  dur- 
ing the  week,  which  is  moved  on  Sundays. 

(6.)  It  is  not  practicable  to  move  as  much  tonnage  in 
six  days  as  in  seven  days. 

(7.)  The  necessity  for  Sunday  rest  is  generally  con- 
ceded by  shippers  and  consignees,  where  the  character  of 
the  traffic  to  be  moved  will  admit  of  such  detention  with- 
out loss  or  injury. 

(8.)  Suspension  of  Sunday  work  results  in  gain  with 
respect  to  operating  expenses  ; that  is,  the  expenses  are 
less  when  Sunday  work  is  suspended;  In  many  depart- 
ments of  labor,  one-half  is  allowed  for  Sunday  work;  that 
is,  one  and  one-half  hours  of  pay  for  each  hour  of  work 
performed.  This  rule,  however,  is  confined  generally  to 
shop  work,  and  does  not  apply  to  train  service. 

(9.)  No  serious  obstacle  to  restriction  of  train  move- 
ments on  Sundays  to  the  minimum  which  you  have 
stated. 

Chicago  &.  Northwestern  Railway  Co. 

J.  M.  Whitman,  General  Manager . 

It  is  the  policy  of  the  management  of  this  company, 
and  has  been  for  some  time,  to  do  no  .more  work  on  Sun- 
day than  is  considered  necessary.  This  position  is  taken 
in  recognition  of  what  we  believe  to  be  best  for  our  em- 
ployees. We  consider  that  a break  in  their  work  occur- 
ring once  in  seven  days,  affords  an  opportunity  for  rest, 
and  that  the  rest  better  fits  them  to  perform  their  duties 


INDUSTRIAL  R EL  A 710  NS. 


8/ 


on  the  remaining  six  days  of  the  week.  On  account  of 
the  length  of  our  lines,  it  is  necessary  that  a considerable 
amount  of  live-stock,  perishable  property,  and  through 
freight  should  be  moved.  Also,  that  through  passenger 
trains  should  be  handled,  and  that  there  should  be  a cer- 
tain amount  of  local  service  performed,  principally  within 
surburban  limits,  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  public.  We 
consider  it  necessary  to  do  this  amount  of  work  on  Sun- 
days, and  particularly  in  the  fall  of  the  year  it  is  necessary 
for  us  to  transact  a considerable  amount  of  dead  freight 
business,  in  order  to  keep  traffic  moving  and  to  prevent 
blockades.  Otherwise  our  Sunday  service  is  confined  to 
as  narrow  limits  as  we  consider  best. 

In  our  mechanical  department  and  shops  hardly  any 
work  on  Sunday  is  ever  done.  In  our  road  department  it 
is  sometimes  necessary  for  us  to  do  a certain  amount  of 
work  that  cannot  be  done  while  traffic  is  going  on.  Other- 
wise our  work  in  track  department  is  exceedingly  limited 
on  Sundays. 


Wisconsin  Central  Lines. 

G.  Campbell,  General  Superintendent . 

There  are  no  established  rules  which  apply  to  suspen- 
sion of  Sunday  service  ; but  it  is  our  aim  to  keep  Sunday 
train  service  and  other  labor  down  to  the  minimum  as 
far  as  possible,  consistent  with  the  demands.  Our  local 
freights  are  scheduled  for  week-days  only ; and  freight 
trains  which  are  run  on  Sunday  handle  perishable  freight, 
live-stock,  and  special  shipments  of  important  commodi- 
ties; and  at  times  special  Sunday  service  is  given,  to  avoid 
yard  blockades.  Sunday  passenger  service  is  conducted 
for  handling  of  Government  mail,  accommodation  of  in- 
ter-state passengers,  and  special  service,  to  meet  special 
emergencies.  There  is  also  special  passenger-service  con- 
ducted to  accommodate  the  Sunday  travel  on  the  Chicago 


88 


SUNDA  V REST 


division,  such  service  being  given  between  Chicago  and 
various  pleasure  resorts  on  that  division,  for  which  there 
is  a strong  public  demand,  steadily  increasing. 

No  work  is  performed  in  the  shops  of  the  motive  power 
or  car  department  except  to  meet  emergencies,  or  when 
necessary  to  prevent  interruption  to  traffic;  only  a very 
small  percentage  pf  the  total  number  of  men  employed  in 
the  shops  are  kept  on  duty  Sundays,  which  is  necessary  to 
attend  to  the  regular  duties  incidental  to  preparing  trains 
at  terminal  points. 

In  the  maintenance  of  way  department,  our  employees 
are  not  obliged  to  work  Sunday,  except  in  the  event  of 
an  accident,  or  when  the  safety  of  our  trains  are  imper- 
illed by  the  elements. 

(i.)  Telegraph  operators,  and  agents  performing  the 
duties  of  an  operator  and  agent  jointly,  are  excused  from 
Sunday  duty  as  early  as  possible,  consistent  with  the 
prompt  movement  of  trains.  Employees  appreciate  the 
rest  given  them,  and  the  abandonment  of  local  run  on 
Sundays  meets  with  favor. 

(2.)  Sunday  trains  average  seventy-five  per  cent  pas- 
senger, sixty-nine  per  cent  freight,  of  those  moved  on 
week-days.  This  allows  a fair  average  of  men  in  the 
train  service  to  enjoy  the  Sunday  rest.  The  round-house 
and  yard  force  is  but  slightly  affected,  as  nearly  the  same 
force  is  required  on  Sundays  as  on  working  days. 

(3.)  Employees  in  both  freight  and  passenger  service 
(except  local  runs)  run  first  in,  first  out,  which  affords 
opportunity  for  each  train  employee  to  enjoy  an  average 
amount  of  Sunday  rest.  No  distinction  is  made  between 
married  and  single  men  in  this  respect. 

(4.)  Inasmuch  as  the  above  practice  has  always  been 
followed  on  this  line,  it  is  difficult  to  determine  relative  to 
the  physical  and  moral  condition  of  employees  enjoying 
Sunday  rest,  except  those  engaged  in  offices  and  clerical 
duties,  where  the  privilege  may  be  considered  as  benefi- 
cial, both  physically  and  morally. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


89 


(5.)  It  has  been  impossible  to  move  the  traffic  during 
1892  and  1893,  and  avoid  blockades  at  terminal  points, 
without  Sunday  freight  service.  It  is  not  infrequent  for 
a volume  of  business  to  reach  one  division  from  the  con- 
necting division  on  Sundays  as  well  as  week-days,  thus 
necessitating  at  times  extra  Sunday  service. 

(6.)  It  is  not  possible  to  accomplish  the  movement  of 
as  much  tonnage  by  excluding  Sunday  service. 

(7).  Not  as  a rule  ; but  allowance  for  Sunday  delays  in 
transit  is  not  considered  by  shippers  and  consignees  any 
different  than  delays  on  other  days. 

(8.)  The  suspension  of  Sunday  work  does  not  materi- 
ally change  the  operating  expenses,  as  the  majority  of  the 
employees  in  the  train  service  are  paid  on  a mileage  or 
monthly  basis. 

(9.)  The  main  objection  of  restriction  to  Sunday  ser- 
vice as  referred  to,  is  that  it  would  create  blockades  at 
terminal  yards,  cause  delay  at  times  to  important  freight, 
and  the  public  generally  would  not  be  satisfied  unless  their 
demands  for  special  passenger  service  were  granted  by  the 
company. 


Great  Northern  Railway. 

A.  L.  Mohler. 

This  company  runs  no  trains  on  Sunday  that  its  busi- 
ness and  the  general  public  do  not  require.  There  are 
portions  of  the  year  when  our  business  is  excessively 
heavy,  and  the  public  requires  us  to  ship  grain  and  furnish 
cars  without  delay,  at  which  time  we  run  every  day  of  the 
week  ; but,  where  the  business  will  permit,  we  aim  to  rest 
our  trains  on  Sunday. 

(7.)  The  general  public  expects  us  to  make  as  good 
time  as  our  competitors,  which  means  we  must  move  such 
freight  constantly  after  it  is  received. 


9o 


SUNDA  Y REST 


The  Chic.  & Alton  R.  R.  Co. 

C.  H.  Chappell,  General  Manager . 

(i.)  We  seek  to  abandon  as  many  trains  on  Sunday  as 
possible.  This  is  regulated  by  the  business  handled, 
whether  perishable  or  otherwise,  and  is  not  governed  by 
any  fixed  rule. 

(2.)  Not  over  fifty  per  cent  of  the  trains  are  moved  on 
Sunday  that  are  moved  on  week-days,  and  a correspond- 
ing number  of  men  are  therefore  afforded  Sunday  rest. 

(3.)  The  Sunday  rest  is  alternated  among  the  train 
force  irrespectively  ; but  if  any  men  object  to  Sunday  work, 
we  try  to  fix  it  so  that  they  need  not  work  on  Sundays. 

(4.)  We  have  not  observed  any  improvement  in  the 
physical  or  moral  condition  of  employees  on  account  of 
Sunday  rest. 

(5.)  We  would  not  be  able  to  move  the  heavy  traffic 
during  the  fall  months  of  the  year  by  working  six  days 
only. 

(6.)  We  do  not  believe  it  possible  to  accomplish  as 
much  work  in  six  days  as  can  be  done  in  seven. 

(7.)  Shippers  and  consignees  expect  all  their  business 
to  be  moved  promptly,  regardless  of  Sunday. 

(8.)  The  suspension  of  Sunday  work  would  not  affect 
materially  the  operating  expenses. 

(9.)  There  are  no  serious  obstacles  to  the  restriction  of 
train  movements  on  Sunday  to  the  minimum  above  given. 


East  Tennessee,  Virginia,  and  Georgia  Railway. 

C.  H.  Hudson,  General  Manager. 

(1.)  The  instructions  to  superintendents  are  that  they 
should  run  as  few  as  possible,  taking  care  of  the  perishable 
and  important  business  that  must  be  moved. 

If  a crew  is  away  from  home,  and  it  is  possible  to  run 


JND  US  TRIAL  RE  LA  TIONS.  9 1 

Sunday  and  get  them  back,  then  a train  is  run  to  take 
them. 

(2.)  In  Georgia  we  have  a law  preventing  the  running 
of  trains  from  twelve  o’clock  Saturday  night  until  twelve 
o’clock  Sunday  night;  consequently,  in  Georgia  we  run  no 
night  trains.  This  in  many  cases  works  a hardship  upon 
our  men,  as  they  reach  the  terminals  away  from  home 
when  they  could  be  gotten  home  during  the  forenoon  of 
Sunday  if  it  were  allowed.  They  therefore  have  to  wait 
until  after  midnight  Sunday  night,  keeping  them  from 
their  homes  and  their  families. 

(3.)  We  endeavor  as  far  as  possible  to  get  our  men 
home  on  Sunday,  without  regard  to  whether  they  properly 
appreciate  the  same  or  not.  Doubtless  there  are  some 
in  each  crew  who  will  appreciate  being  with  their  families. 

Our  officials  are  all  agreed  that  to  accomplish  the  best 
results  for  both  the  road  and  the  men,  the  matter  should 
be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  superintendents,  so  that  each 
Sunday  might  be  taken  care  of  by  itself. 

(4.)  No  change  observed. 

(5.)  We  have  never  been  able  to  move  our  heavy  traffic 
without  blockades  at  some  point,  in  territory  where  we 
cannot  run  on  Sunday. 

(6.)  No. 

(7.)  Shippers  and  consignees,  respecting  the  time  al- 
lowed for  the  movements  of  products  and  merchandise, 
do  not  concede  one  day  out  of  seven  for  rest  without 
complaint.  If  a Sunday  intervenes  in  territory  where 
their  freight  is  obliged  to  lay,  there  is  great  complaint. 

(8.)  A complete  suspension  of  Sunday  work  results  in 
a loss,  respecting  operating  expenses,  because  of  block- 
ades at  terminals,  additional  time,  and  additional  switch- 
ing expenses. 

(9.)  I regard  all  legislative  restrictions  objectionable. 
Work  of  all  kinds,  such  as  mechanical  and  maintenance 
of  way  work,  is  suspended  on  Sunday. 

With  large  movements  of  freight  from  the  seaboard  to 


92 


SUNDAY  REST. 


the  interior,  or  vice  versa , there  must  necessarily  be  block- 
ades at  the  terminals  reached  at  or  before  midnight  Satur- 
day, if  no  trains  run  on  Sunday. 


Newport  News  & Miss.  Valley  Co.  & Ohio  Valley  R.  R. 

Epes  Randolph,  General  Superintendent. 

In  respect  to  abandoning  work  on  Sunday,  we  have  no 
specific  regulations,  but  it  is  our  custom  to  perform  only 
such  work  as  appears  to  be  absolutely  necessary. 


N.  Y.,  N.  H.,  & H.  R.  R.  Co. 

C.  H.  Platt,  General  Manager . 

(i.)  It  has  never  been  our  custom  to  run  any  large 
number  of  trains  on  the  Sabbath,  but  since  1887  we  have 
been  governed  by  the  following  Connecticut  statutes  : — 

“ Sec.  3523.  No  railroad  company  shall  run  any  train 
on  any  road  operated  by  it  within  this  State,  between 
sunrise  and  sunset  on  Sunday,  except  from  necessity 
or  mercy  ; provided,  that  before  ten  o’clock  and  thirty 
minutes  in  the  forenoon,  and  after  three  o’clock  in  the 
afternoon,  it  may  run  trains  carrying  the  United  States 
mail,  and  such  other  trains  or  classes  of  trains  as  may  be 
authorized  by  the  Railroad  Commissioners  of  the  State, 
on  application  made  to  them  on  the  ground  that  the  same 
are  required  by  the  public,  necessity,  or  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  freight.” 

(2.)  About  one-fifth  as  many  trains  are  handled  on 
Sunday  as  on  week-days,  but  this  number  includes  trains 
reaching  terminal  stations  early  in  the  morning,  and  trains 
starting  late  in  the  evening. 

The  number  of  trainmen  employed  is,  of  course,  in 
about  the  above  proportion. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


93 


(3.)  Trainmen  run  by  the  trip,  and  are  afforded  such 
opportunities  for  rest  as  they  require. 

(4.)  As  above,  no  radical  change  has  been  made  in  our 
service. 

(5.)  Our  traffic  has  been  quite  heavy,  but  has  been 
handled  promptly  under  the  arrangement  stated  above. 

(6.)  We  believe  that  men  working  six  days  per  week 
can  handle  as  much  traffic  and  better,  than  required  to 
work  seven  days  per  week. 

(7.)  We  have  no  serious  complaint  resulting  from  our 
practice  of  discontinuing  trains  on  Sunday. 

(8.)  We  do  not  think  the  financial  result  is  affected 
materially  by  the  arrangement  in  force. 

(9.)  We  find  no  serious  obstacle  to  carrying  out  our 
plans,  except,  generally  speaking,  competition  with  roads 
that  perform  Sunday  service,  and  the  demands  of  the 
public  for  transportation  facilities  on  that  day. 


Maine  Central  R.  R.  Co.  (Operating  320  miles). 

Payson  Tucker,  Vice-President  and  General  Manager . 

On  Sundays  we  run  only  such  trains  as  are  necessary, 
and  we  practically  conform  to  your  table  of  a minimum  of 
Sunday  work. 


Central  Vermont  Railroad. 

F.  W.  Baldwin,  General  Superintendent. 

(1.)  We  have  no  printed  instructions  controlling  Sun* 
day  work. 

(2.)  Freight  trains  have  about  ten  per  cent,  and  pas- 
senger trains  about  twenty-five  per  cent.  Trainmen  about 
same  percentage. 

(3.)  No  discrimination  is  made  in  selecting  men  for 
Sunday  work,  unless  on  special  request  of  the  men. 


94 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


(4.)  I cannot  see  that  any  special  change  is  noticeable. 
(S-)  No. 

(6.)  No. 

(7.)  Yes,  except  in  case  of  live-stock  or  perishable 
freight. 

(8.)  Probably  loss,  resulting  from  blockade. 

(9.)  This  company  has  no  difficulty  in  restricting  the 
amount  of  labor  to  the  minimum  stated. 

Grand  Trunk  Railway  Co.,  of  Canada. 

L.  J.  Seargeant,  General  Manager . 

It  has  been  our  endeavor  to  limit  the  amount  of  Sun- 
day labor,  in  the  belief  that  every  man  employed  in  rail- 
way or  other  pursuits  should  have  at  least  one  day  per 
week  during  which  he  could  rest  and  derive  the  advan- 
tages which  Sunday  is  intended  to  confer.  Unfortu- 
nately, however,  we  find  that  there  are  a great  many  works 
of  absolute  necessity  to  be  performed  on  that  day,  as  in 
the  case  of  perishable  and  live-stock  traffic,  which  must 
be  forwarded  to  destination  ; and  it  would  be  a very  great 
hardship,  and  even  cruelty,  entirely  to  cut  off  travelling 
facilities,  of  which  persons  in  affliction,  # or  travelling 
under  urgent  necessity,  could  avail  themselves. 

During  our  experience  we  find  that  excursion  traffic 
for  religious  objects  are  occasionally  wanted  on  Sunday. 

What  we  have  endeavored  to  do,  is  to  bring  down  our 
travelling  facilities  on  that  day  to  the  lowest  practicable 
limit. 

(Mexico.) 

Tamino  De  Fierro  Nacional  Mexicano. 

E.  N.  Brown,  General  Superintendent . 

Our  company  does  not  take  Sunday  into  consideration 
at  all  in  connection  with  passenger  or  freight-train  service. 

I am  of  the  opinion  that  it  would  be  quite  problem- 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


95 


atical  as  to  what  benefit  would  be  derived  morally  by  giv- 
ing our  employees  Sunday  rest,  for  the  reason  that  there 
are  but  a few  resorts  of  a refining  moral  character  at  pres- 
sent  which  are  accessible,  and  the  tendency  here  would 
probably  be  to  spend  the  day  in  dissipation. 

The  conditions  existing  in  this  country  are  quite  dif- 
ferent from  those  in  the  United  States. 


L.  S.  Coffin.1  I am  authorized  to  represent  in 
this  Congress  the  Brotherhood  of  Railway  Trainmen, 
who  number  an  army  of  thirty-one  thousand  practi- 
cal, every-day  railway  men,  and  to  say,  through  this 
Congress  to  the  world  at  large,  that  they  are  unani- 
mous in  their  wish,  as  expressed  by  vote  in  their 
national  convention,  to  have  the  Sunday  as  their  rest 
day.  This  is  the  youngest  among  the  railway  organ- 
izations, and  is  made  up  of  young  men,  mostly 
brakemen. 

I am  also  authorized  to  represent  the  Order  of 
Railway  Conductors,  and  to  state  that  at  their  last 

1 Mr.  Coffin  was  for  five  years  a member  of  the  Board  of  Railroad 
Commissioners  of  the  State  of  Iowa.  He  was  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing the  enactment  by  Congress  of  the  law  requiring  safety  couplers  and 
brakes  on  freight  cars.  He  is  also  the  founder  of  the  Railway  Tem- 
perance Association,  which,  called  from  its  badge  the  White  Button 
Movement,  already  includes  in  its  ranks  a large  proportion  of  the  rail- 
way employees  of  this  country.  — Ed. 


9 6 


SUNDAY  REST. 


biennial  convention  in  June  of  this  year,  they  passed, 
unanimously,  resolutions  to  the  effect  that  they 
wanted  the  Sabbath  for  their  own;  they  wanted  a 
discontinuance  of  Sunday  trains,  so  that  they  could 
be  at  home  in  their  families.  This  order  numbers 
about  twenty-eight  thousand.  A speaker  asked  yes- 
terday why  these  laboring  men  were  not  here,  and 
answered  his  own  inquiry  in  a way  that  touched 
my  heart,  when  he  said  that  it  is  because  they  are 
confined  to  an  eternal  grind.  They  cannot  leave  to 
come  here,  as  you  and  I do.  Thousands  have  come 
here  by  proxy.  I myself  directly  represent  fifty 
thousand  votes  in  the  above  orders.  Not  only  that, 
but  I have  here  resolutions  passed  by  the  Order  of 
Railway  Telegraphers  in  their  convention  last  May. 
Their  resolutions  petition  the  railroad  companies  for 
the  discontinuance  of  Sunday  trains.  Their  number 
is  about  twenty-five  thousand. 

Here  we  have  about  seventy-five  thousand  railway 
men  asking  this  Congress  to  give  force  and  voice  to 
their  resolutions  and  demands. 

One  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  Brotherhood  of 
Locomotive  Engineers  has  written  to  me  stating 
that  he  hoped  to  be  here  ; and  if  not,  he  asked  me 
to  say  to  this  Congress,  that  at  their  last  biennial 
convention  at  Atlanta,  May  1892,  they  unanimously 
passed  resolutions  regarding  Sunday  rest,  which  I lay 
before  you.  They  also  voted  unanimously  to  ask  the 
authorities  of  this  great  World’s  Fair  to  close  the 
gates  on  Sunday.  This  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive 
Engineers  numbers  not  less  than  thirty-five  thou- 
sand. It  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  powerful,  not 
only  in  numbers,  but  in  intelligence,  of  the  labor  or- 
ganizations of  America.  I am  authorized  to  repre- 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS.  97 

sent  them,  and  am  proud  of  the  opportunity  of  doing 
so. 

Here,  then,  practically  are  more  than  a hundred 
thousand  of  the  railway  employees  of  this  country; 
and  they  say  to  this  Congress,  and  through  this  Con- 
gress to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  that  they 
are  united  in  wanting  the  abolition  of  Sunday  traffic 
as  far  as  it  is  possible  or  practicable. 

Let  me  take  up  for  a moment  several  points  that 
have  come  to  my  mind  as  I have  listened  to  the 
papers.  What  are  we  going  to  do  about  it?  It  is 
good  to  come  here  and  listen,  but  what  are  you  and  I 
going  to  do  when  we  go  away  from  here  ? It  seems 
to  me  that  it  demands  immediate  and  earnest  action. 
We  talk  about  the  demoralization  of  thought,  of  sen- 
timent, of  respect  for  the  Sabbath,  — I say  here  on 
my  candid  judgment,  there  is  no  source  of  demorali- 
zation in  regard  to  our  Sabbath  so  great  as  that  of 
the  transportation  companies,  if  allowed  to  keep  on 
their  work  on  Sunday;  that  unless  we  can  arouse 
a public  sentiment  that  shall  crystallize  into  a na- 
tional law  to  abolish  Sunday  trains  in  this  country, 
the  Sunday  trains  will  abolish  the  Sabbath. 

Now,  the  paper  just  read  showed  a little  how  the 
managers  feel,  how  the  corporations  themselves  feel 
about  it.  In  my  talk  with  some  of  these  managers, 
especially  with  a very  noted  manager  in  this  city,  he 
said  to  me,  “ I confess  I do  not  feel  right  to  go  to 
my  church  on  the  Sabbath  and  listen  to  a grand  ser- 
mon, and  realize  that  out  all  over  the  land,  through 
this  great  West,  our  boys  are  at  work  on  Sunday  ; 
but  what  can  I do  ? The  pressure  of  the  public  upon 
me  is  so  strong  that  I cannot  resist  it.  You  must 
go  to  the  public  and'arouse  public  sentiment.”  That 


98 


SUNDAY  REST. 


is  true  to  a certain  extent.  Mr.  Chauncy  Depew 
said  almost  the  very  same  words  to  me  about  a year 
and  a half  ago. 

I do  not  believe  that  the  pressure  for  Sunday  traf- 
fic is  so  great  that  the  railway  managers  cannot  resist 
it.  Every  man  in  the  corporations  would  resist  the 
application  for  Sunday  trains  if  there  were  no  profit 
in  them. 

I do  not  agree  with  what  is  said  about  perishable 
freight.  And  I am  not  alone  in  this  position.  One 
of  the  ablest  men  in  the  railway  work  in  this  nation, 
Mr.  Ledyard,  of  the  Michigan  Central  R.  R.,  stands 
with  me  here.  Since  the  advent  of  refrigerator  cars, 
perishable  freight  has,  so  to  speak,  dropped  out  of 
existence.  There  is  no  question  about  this.  Let  me 
illustrate.  I am  a raiser  of  fruits  away  down  South. 
I send  to  Chicago  a carload  of  strawberries.  When 
that  carload  reaches  Centralia  I get  a telegram  from 
my  commissioner  here  in  Chicago  that  strawberries 
are  “ away  off,”  that  the  market  is  glutted,  but  that 
there  is  a good  market  for  them  in  Detroit.  What 
do  I do  ? I telegraph  to  the  company  to  put  more 
ice  in  the  strawberry  car  and  send  it  another  day’s 
journey  to  Detroit.  Which  is  cheaper,  a little  ice, 
when  God  gives  us  such  an  abundance  of  it,  or  the 
demoralization  of  these  railroad  men  by  robbing  them 
of  the  Sabbath  ? 

Again,  in  regard  to  cattle.  All  my  life  I have  han- 
dled cattle,  and  know  the  needs  of  stock.  I make  the 
assertion  that  whenever  a car  of  cattle  goes  on  such 
a journey  that  a Sunday  must  intervene,  it  is  better 
for  the  men  who  own  the  stock,  and  better  for  the 
men  who  buy  the  stock,  that  the  cattle  be  taken  off 
a day,  and  rested  and  fed ; and  so  true  is  this,  that  we 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


99 


have  succeeded  in  enacting  a national  law  that  no 
car  of  stock  shall  have  a continuous  ride  of  over 
twenty-eight  hours. 

The  paper  speaks  of  “ blockading.”  This  can  only 
occur  where  the  stoppage  of  trains  is  partial,  where 
but  a few  roads  stop  on  Sunday  and  others  do  not. 
Let  it  be  understood  everywhere  that  Sunday  is  a 
day  that  the  trainmen  shall  have,  and  they  will  regu- 
late everything  accordingly.  There  is  no  question 
about  that.  How  do  they  get  along  over  in  Canada, 
in  Toronto  ? How  do  they  get  along  in  England, 
where  it  is  said  that  there  is  little  freight  traffic  on 
Sunday  ? 

Now,  what  are  we  going  to  do  about  it  ? The  first 
thing  is  to  see  that  the  United  States  mails  shall  not 
be  carried  on  Sunday.  What  right  have  you  and  I 
to  say  to  these  thousands  of  postal  clerks  that  they 
shall  lose  their  Sabbath  ? Every  man  who  asks  me 
for  my  vote,  or  for  my  influence  to  put  him  in  Con- 
gress, has  got  to  say  to  me  before  I vote  for  him, 
that  he  will  do  his  best  to  save  to  these  railway  men 
and  these  postal  clerks  their  Sabbath.  Let  us  take 
that  position,  let  the  church  take  that  position,  and 
the  thing  is  accomplished. 

I wish  I could  better  portray  to  you  the  real  state 
of  feeling  of  these  men  whom  I represent.  Four 
years  ago  I drafted  a bill  for  our  State  Legislature, 
giving  these  men  Sunday.  It  passed  the  Senate,  but 
failed  in  the  House.  Incidentally,  let  me  say  here 
that  some  of  our  men  have  opposed  laws  for  stopping 
Sunday  trains,  because  every  such  proposed  law  un- 
wisely provided  for  the  stopping  of  trains  Saturday 
at  midnight,  and  for  their  being  started  again  at 
midnight  of  Sunday.  The  great  idea  is  to  get  these 


IOO 


SUNDA  V REST. 


men  home  on  Sunday,  and  let  them  have  their  rest. 
Trains  coming  into  a division  Saturday  night  and  go- 
ing out  Sunday  night,  or  coming  in  Sunday  morning 
and  going  out  Monday  morning,  would  satisfy  fully 
the  requirements  of  this  Act.  One  of  the  divisions 
of  the  Order  of  Railway  Conductors  at  Des  Moines, 
because  I had  interested  myself  in  this  matter,  in- 
vited me  to  their  meeting,  and  the  question  up  for  dis- 
cussion was  Sunday  rest.  Every  one  in  the  meeting 
spoke  his  mind  ; and  then  the  chairman,  the  Chief  of 
the  Division,  arose  and  said,  “I  want  to  give  my 
ideas  about  it.”  (I  give  you  his  own  language. ) “For 
five  years  I have  lived  at  Keokuk  ; for  five  years  I 
have  been  every  Sunday  in  the  yards,  making  up 
trains  and  setting  in  cars ; and  for  those  five  years  I 
have  not  been  inside  of  a church  on  Sunday.  My 
wife,  thinking  that  if  I had  to  work  it  was  her  duty 
to  stay  at  home  and  get  me  a good  dinner,  for  these 
five  years  has  not  been  inside  of  a church  on 
Sunday.  My  children  do  not  go  to  Sunday-school. 
And  when  I have  been  in  the  yard  with  those  cars  I 
have  thought  it  over,  and  have  come  to  this  conclu- 
sion : ‘ It  is  the  Almighty  Dollar  that  everybody  is 

after,  and  they  don’t  care  a d for  us  ! ’ ” 

How  I wish  that  every  minister,  that  every  legisla- 
tor, could  have  looked  in  the  eyes  of  that  man  when  he 
said  that ! Do  we  realize  that  in  this  country  these 
railway  employees  number  nearly  a million,  whose 
bread  and  butter  depend  upon  this  industry?  And 
when  this  great  army  of  men  get  to  thinking  that 
the  great  public  which  they  serve  so  faithfully  and 
at  such  immense  risk  to  life  and  limb,  cares  nothing 
for  them,  how  easy  it  is  for  them  to  step  over  on  the 
other  side  and  care  nothing  for  the  public ! It  is  a 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


IOI 


great  question  of  statesmanship,  that  should  be  con- 
sidered by  the  wise  and  good  men  of  this  nation. 

The  paper  just  read  is  the  best  showing  for  the 
railways  of  this  country  that  I have  ever  heard,  but  I 
am  not  at  all  in  sympathy  with  some  of  its  pleadings. 
It  is  the  companies’  side  of  the  question  : most  of 
them  know  that  I have  nothing  but  good  will  for 
them. 

This  Sunday  traffic  can  be  stopped.  Are  we  to 
suppose  that  the  great  Father  of  us  all  would  plant 
in  us  a law,  and  then  tell  us  by  a command  that  he 
had  planted  that  law,  and  yet  place  us  in  such  cir- 
cumstances that  we  could  not  meet  the  requirements 
of  that  law  ? That  is  nonsense.  It  can  be  done. 
The  great  trouble  is  greed.  The  general  manager 
is  not  wholly  responsible.  He  wants  to  keep  his 
place  and  have  his  business  prosper,  and  have  a good 
showing  in  his  annual  report.  What  is  wanted,  to 
speak  the  plain  truth,  is  this  : a little  more  expendi- 
ture for  motive  power.  There  is  hardly  a road  in 
the  United  States  that  is  not  to  a certain  extent 
poverty-stricken  for  lack  of  motive  power.  Take  it 
right  at  this  time.  Here  are  thousands  of  men  out 
of  employment.  Almost  every  railroad  company  has 
dismissed  men,  and  are  asking  others  to  take  less 
wages,  and  those  men  are  grandly  consenting.  Let 
me  say  a word  in  confidence.  I could  have  told  the 
public  at  the  first  of  the  year  that  no  matter  how 
much  pushing  down  and  requesting  to  take  less 
wages,  there  would  not  be  a general  railroad  strike 
in  any  part  of  this  nation,  for  that  was  decided  upon 
by  these  men  themselves.  They  are  thorough  Amer- 
icans, and  they  wanted  to  see  the  success  of  this 
Exposition  ; and  they  will  work  night  and  day,  and 


102 


SUNDAY  REST. 


Sundays  and  week-days,  and  get  so  tired  and  sleepy 
that  it  may  be  the  occasion  for  what  has  sometimes 
happened,  accident  or  wreck  because  of  overwork. 
Do  you  not  know  that  we  are  working  for  public 
safety  when  we  are  working  for  Sunday  rest  ? 

How  much  better,  how  much  grander,  it  would  be, 
instead  of  dismissing  men  everywhere,  to  hire  one- 
seventh  more,  and  let  them  all  rest  Sunday.  Would 
it  not  be  better  to  put  these  men  to  work,  instead  of 
making  tramps  of  them  ? 

The  resolutions  adopted  by  the  R.  R.  employees 
association,  to  which  I have  referred,  are  appended. 
The  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  passed 
resolutions  to  the  same  effect. 


ORDER  OF  RAILWAY  TELEGRAPHERS. 

Whereas , The  duties  of  the  railroad  telegrapher  and 
despatches  are  such — involving,  as  it  does,  a great 
responsibility,  both  to  the  travelling  public  and  the  trans- 
portation companies  — that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that 
men  engaged  in  such  work  should  not  only  be  possessed 
of  a high  order  of  talent,  but  that  they  should  at  all  times 
when  on  duty  be  able  to  use  their  abilities  to  their  very 
best ; and 

Whereas , It  is  now  admitted  by  all  reasonable  men 
that  one  day  of  rest  in  seven  is  a demand  of  our  being,  to 
enable  us  to  discharge  the  responsible  duties  we  have  to 
perform ; therefore,  be  it 

Resolved \ By  this  Convention  of  telegraphers,  assembled 
in  Toronto,  Ont.,  and  representing  twenty-five  thousand 
working  men,  daily  employed  by  the  railroads  of  the 
United  States,  Canada,  and  Mexico,  that  we  most  re- 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


103 


spectfully  request  the  great  shippers  and  travelling  public, 
whom  we  are  willing  to  serve  to  the  best  of  our  ability 
six  days  and  six  nights  in  a week,  that  they  will  not  press 
and  demand  Sunday  traffic  on  our  railways. 

We  believe  one  day  of  rest  was  ordained  for  the  teleg- 
raphers and  despatchers,  as  well  as  for  the  passengers 
and  shippers,  and  we  feel  that  we  have  the  same  rights  to 
be  at  liberty  and  at  home  with  our  families  as  other  cit- 
izens ; therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,*  That  we  are  in  hearty  accord  with  the  efforts 
of  all  good  people  who  may  be  laboring  to  shorten  the 
hours  of  labor. 

“ Unanimously  adopted  by  the  Eighth  Annual  Conven- 
tion, Order  of  Railroad  Telegraphers,  in  session  at  To- 
ronto, Canada,  May  18,  1893.” 

J.  Weatherbee, 
Grand  Secretary  and  Treasurer . 


BROTHERHOOD  OF  RAILWAY  TRAINMEN. 

Whereas , It  is  the  universal  belief  that  the  one  day  of 
rest  in  seven  is  not  only  an  imperative  demand  of  the  phys- 
ical nature  of  all  men  engaged  in  labor,  but  that  such  a 
rest  day  tends  to  the  higher  development  of  the  social, 
moral,  and  spiritual  part  of  our  own  being ; therefore, 

Be  it  Resolved,  By  the  Brotherhood  of  Railroad  Train- 
men in  convention  assembled,  in  Boston,  Mass.,  October, 
1893,  representing  thirty-one  thousand  men  in  this  order, 
that  we  in  this  formal  manner  enter  our  earnest  protest 
against  the  increasing  demands  of  the  public  for  Sunday 
trains. 

Resolved,  second  : That  we  most  fully  believe  the  “ Sab- 
bath was  made  for  man,”  — for  the  employee  as  well  as  the 


104 


SUNDAY  REST. 


employer  ; for  the  trainman  as  well  as  the  passenger  and 
the  shipper ; that  the  hours  of  the  Sabbath  are  a God- 
given  blessing  to  the  laboring  man,  and  that  when  these 
hours  are  encroached  upon  by  the  greed  of  capital,  that 
we  would  be  less  than  the  free  men  we  are  if  we  did  not 
enter  our  earnest  protest  and  defend  our  rights  at  all 
hazards. 

Resolved , third : That  we,  as  practical  railroad  men, 
know  from  experience  that,  in  order  to  be  able  to  be  at 
our  best  at  all  times,  to  meet  the  constantly  recurring 
emergencies  in  railroad  work,  so  as  to  give  the  best 
security  to  the  lives  and  property  entrusted  to  our  care, 
we  must  have  the  periodical  rest  day  so  wisely  ordained 
for  us  by  the  Creator  ; and  we  do  trust  that  a thoughtful 
and  Christian  public,  and  the  corporations  we  are  con- 
nected with,  and  whom  we  are  willing  to  serve  to  the  best 
of  our  ability  six  days  and  six  nights  in  the  week,  will  ac- 
cord to  us  this  rest  day,  as  our  imperative  need  and  our 
most  sacred  right. 


NATIONAL  ORDER  OF  RAILWAY  CONDUCTORS. 

Whereas , We,  as  railroad  men,  are  willing  to  serve 
the  public  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  willing  to  forego  the 
pleasure  of  having  regular  hours  for  our  meals  with  our 
families,  willing  to  turn  day  into  night,  and  night  into 
day,  in  order  to  convenience  the  great  travelling  and  ship- 
ping public,  and  enhance  the  interests  of  the  railway  com- 
panies with  which  we  are  identified : yet,  believing  that  the 
one  day  of  rest  in  seven  is  a demand  of  our  being,  and, 
when  properly  observed,  tends  to  the  highest  good  of  all ; 
and 

Whereas , We,  as  railroad  conductors,  need  always  when 
on  duty  to  be  at  our  best  at  all  times  ; therefore, 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


io5 


Resolved , By  this  National  Order  of  Railway  Conductors, 
in  biennial  convention  assembled,  June,  1893,  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  representing  not  less  than  twenty-two  thousand  con- 
ductors in  daily  active,  practical  work  in  railroad  service, 
that  in  this  formal  and  explicit  manner  we  appeal  to  the 
general  public,  whom  we  try  to  serve  most  faithfully,  to  de- 
sist from  demanding  of  our  managers  that  we  should  be 
compelled  to  be  away  from  our  families  on  the  Sabbath. 

Resolved,  That  we  believe  that  the  Sabbath  was  made 
for  man,  — for  the  employee  as  well  as  for  the  employer  ; 
for  the  trainman  as  well  as  for  the  passenger  or  shipper  ; 
and  we  are  in  hearty  accord  with  every  effort  of  all  good 
men  to  secure  to  labor  this  one  day  of  rest  in  seven,  as 
one  of  the  best  gifts  of  Heaven  to  man  : and  when  so 
secured  as  every  man’s  right,  to  be  observed  as  his  own 
best  good  demands,  it  becomes  the  impassable  barrier  to 
the  encroachments  of  capital  upon  the  rights  of  labor. 


SUNDAY  REST  AND  THE  INDUSTRIES  OF  FRANCE. 


ED.  BAUMGARTNER , 
Rouen , France. 


'HERE  are,  perhaps,  few  countries  in  Europe 


1 where  the  variety  of  industries  is  so  great  as  in 
France,  and  that  owing  to  the  size  of  the  country,  the 
varied  produce  of  its  soil,  the  skill  of  its  people,  the 
pliableness  of  French  genius  which  can  adapt  itself 
to  the  most  diversified  environments,  and,  finally, 


io6 


SUNDAY  REST. 


the  geographical  position  of  France.  Its  seacoast 
has  a length  of  several  hundred  miles.  The  ves- 
sels finding  shelter  in  the  harbors  of  the  Channel 
come  from  England,  Sweden,  Russia ; and  in  the 
Mediterranean,  as  upon  the  coast  of  the  ocean,  France 
is  in  constant  communication  with  Africa  and  the 
Levant.  Its  frontiers  hardly  separate  it  from  neigh- 
boring countries.  Often  the  frontier  is  a line  traced 
upon  the  map,  rather  than  a natural  obstacle.  Thus 
in  the  north  we  find  mines,  glass  and  iron  works,  as 
in  Belgium  ; in  the  east,  smelting  furnaces  and  met- 
allurgy, as  in  Germany  ; upon  the  borders  of  Switzer- 
land it  is  clock  and  watch  making,  which  rival  those 
of  Geneva  and  Chau  de  Fonds  ; in  the  south,  it  is 
the  culture  of  silk-worms  and  the  manufacture  of 
silk  fabrics,  as  in  Italy  ; and  finally,  upon  the  Spanish 
frontier  and  near  the  Pyrenees,  the  inhabitants  de- 
vote themselves  to  works  which  recall  those  of  Ibe- 
rian populations. 

In  all  these  industries,  with  few  exceptions,  such 
as  those  fours  a feux  continus  (furnaces  with  unin- 
terrupted fires),  it  is  possible,  at  the  cost  of  unimpor- 
tant sacrifices,  and  by  skilful  combinations  varying 
with  the  nature  of  the  work  and  with  local  usages,  to 
observe  Sunday  rest. 

In  an  interesting  report  read  before  the  Interna- 
tional Congress  on  Sunday  Rest,  of  1889,  Mr.  Jules 
Pagny,  a manufacturer  from  Brussels,  showed  by 
facts  gathered  from  a great  number  of  industries, 
that  Sunday  rest  was  at  once  possible  and  desirable 
everywhere  ; we  see  nothing  to  add  to  his  work,  nor 
to  the  conclusions  which  he  reached. 

Are  there  causes  peculiar  to  France  which  are 
hostile  to  Sunday  rest  ? Is  not  the  work  the  same 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


107 


in  France,  in  England,  and  everywhere  else?  Why, 
then,  is  not  Sunday  rest  observed  here  as  it  is  there  ? 
It  seems  to  us  that  this  is  the  important  point  to 
ascertain,  and  that  to  seek  where  the  evil  is,  is  the 
best  and  the  most  efficient  way  to  overcome  it. 

France  has  ever  been  an  industrial  country.  “ Ag- 
riculture and  manufacturing,”  said  Colbert,  “are  the 
two  breasts  of  the  country.”  But  manufacturing 
upon  a large  scale  (la  grande  Industrie ) is  rather  of 
foreign  importation.  Manufacturing  on  a small  scale 
(la petite  Industrie'),  that  is  to  say,  by  an  employer 
with  a small  number  of  men,  and  these  often  work- 
ing in  their  own  homes,  is  still  the  type  of  work  of 
a large  number  of  manufacturers  in  France.  The 
pivot  of  all  manufacturing  is  the  motive  power. 
Now,  before  the  introduction  of  the  steam-engine, 
the  arm  of  man  was  the  principal,  and  sometimes  the 
only  motive  power.  Workingmen  were  not  gathered 
into  one  large  shop.  The  workman  stayed  at  home, 
and  from  time  to  time  brought  back  his  work  to  his 
employer,  taking  back  new  material.  He  worked  in 
the  midst  of  his  family  and  with  it  ; the  father 
became  in  a certain  sense  the  employer  (patron)  of 
his  own  children.  Family  life  was  not  sacrificed. 
He  did  not  work  on  Sunday  unless  he  wished  to  ; as, 
for  instance,  a few  hours  to  finish  urgent  work,  and 
he  still  had  the  time  to  attend  to  his  religious  duties. 
The  necessity  for  Sunday  rest  was  less  felt,  because 
Sunday  was  less  sacrificed.  On  the  other  hand,  this 
method  of  labor  was  fraught  with  grave  dangers.  By 
working  at  home  the  workingman  did  not  know  his 
companions,  could  not  agree  with  them,  and  thus  he 
remained  alone,  face  to  face  with  his  employer,  to  dis- 
cuss with  him  the  conditions  of  his  labor.  In  the 


io8 


SUNDAY  REST. 


industries  where  work  is  not  regular,  and  where  pe- 
riods of  great  activity  are  followed  by  long  months 
of  idleness,  if  the  workingman  declined  to  work  on 
Sunday  to  finish  pressing  work,  he  would  incur  the 
ill-will  of  his  employer,  who  would  then  decline  to 
give  him  any  work  at  all  when  the  dull  period  of 
work  recurred.  Now,  that  which  was  once  the  gen- 
eral condition  in  France  still  survives,  wherever 
manufacturing  on  a small  scale  exists.  It  will  suf- 
fice to  give  as  an  example  the  work  of  tailors  and 
ready-made  clothing.  One  thing  only  could  have 
protected  the  workingman  against  the  exactions  of 
his  employers,  and  also,  we  must  say,  against  the 
inevitable  temptation  to  increase  his  own  wages  to 
meet  the  increasing  demands  of  material  life.  It 
would  have  been  the  power  of  religion  ( la  puissance 
de  Videe  religieuse ).  But,  alas  ! the  deadly  philosophy 
of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  attacks  of  the 
encyclopaedists  did  their  work ; and  religion,  attacked 
by  some,  poorly  defended  by  others,  materialized  and 
degraded  by  those  whose  mission  it  was  to  make  it 
honored,  was  powerless  to  make  its  principles  re- 
spected ; and  the  workingman,  losing  all  that  could 
have  saved  him,  became  the  easy  prey  of  whosoever 
wished  to  dupe  him, — the  victim  of  an  unrestrained 
competition  and  of  the  hard  passion  for  gain.  He 
lost  his  Sunday.  It  is  in  manufacturing  on  a small 
scale  that  the  violation  of  Sunday  rest  is  most  fre- 
quent ; and  this  form  of  manufacturing  still  employs 
an  immense  number  of  workingmen  in  France. 

There  exists  in  France,  as  in  other  countries,  a 
natural  motive  power  of  great  importance,  scattered 
here  and  there,  — that  of  the  water  courses.  The  use 
of  this  power  can  often  be  secured  with  little  expense, 


IND  USTRIAL  RE  LA  TIONS.  1 09 

especially  if  the  old  hydraulic  motors  are  used. 
Wherever  one  finds  water  courses  of  regular  action,  — 
that  is,  whose  variations  as  to  its  quantity  of  water 
are  held  within  certain  limits,  — one  also  finds  facto- 
ries that  have  taken  advantage  of  this  motive  power, 
at  once  so  natural  and  accessible.  Whether  these 
factories  be  managed  by  the  proprietor  of  the  fall,  or 
whether  they  are  leased  to  a second  party,  the  fact 
remains  that  when  the  work  of  establishing  the  plant 
is  once  done,  the  motive  power  for  Sunday  does  not 
cost  anything,  either  to  the  owner  or  to  the  lessee. 
If  he  shuts  down  his  mill  on  Sunday,  on  seeing  the 
water  escape  over  the  fall,  he  says  to  himself  with 
sadness  : “ There  is  an  unused  natural  power  which  I 
never  shall  see  again.”  Is  it  strange,  if  in  these  con- 
ditions he  allowed  his  mill  to  run  on  Sunday  ? It 
would  almost  seem  wrong  to  do  otherwise.  It  would 
be  as  if  a farmer  refused  to  pick  up  the  fruit  which 
the  wind  had  blown  from  the  tree.  It  takes  a great 
faith  in  the  sacredness  and  power  of  Sunday  to  resist 
this  language  of  nature.  Few  there  are  who  at  such 
a time  hear  the  word  of  divine  wisdom.  Accordingly, 
it  must  be  said  that,  with  rare  exceptions,  all  small 
mills  worked  by  hydraulic  power,  and  having  only  two 
or  three  workingmen,  run  on  Sunday.  We  may  cite, 
as  an  example,  flouring-mills  having  two  or  three  sets 
of  stones.  They  are  very  numerous  in  France.  We 
may  add  the  windmills  in  the  north  of  France  and 
the  neighborhood  of  Belgium.  What  we  have  said 
concerning  hydraulic  power  would  apply  still  more  to 
the  windmill ; for  the  miller  who  does  not  use  his 
water  on  Sunday  is  sure  to  have  some  on  the  next 
day  ; but  if  he  does  not  unfurl  the  wings  of  his  mill 
on  Sunday  morning,  when  a good  breeze  is  blowing, 


I IO 


SUNDA  Y REST, 


it  is  not  at  all  certain  that  the  same  breeze  will  come 
on  Monday. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  question  in  reference  to 
manufacturing  upon  a large  scale  (la  grande  Indus - 
trie').  This  form  of  manufacturing  began  with  the 
steam-engine,  of  which  it  is,  so  to  say,  the  necessary 
consequence.  Indeed,  as  soon  as  man  entered  into 
possession  of  a motor  whose  power  was  unlimited, 
his  immediate  interest  was  to  create  those  vast  es- 
tablishments where  the  multiplicity  of  machines  and 
the  concentration  of  diverse  manufacturing  opera- 
tions has  lessened  the  general  expenses,  lowering 
the  cost,  and  giving  thereby  an  uncontestable  su- 
periority in  the  market.  Again,  around  the  steam 
motor,  the  new  suzerain  of  modern  times,  — as  for- 
merly under  the  shadow  of  feudal  castles,  — families 
grouped  themselves.  Here  a new  condition  was 
created.  The  workmen  had  to  leave  their  homes 
for  the  whole  day.  The  wife  followed  her  husband 
to  the  factory,  the  children  accompanied  their  par- 
ents ; sometimes,  even,  they  were  separated  for  the 
whole  day,  as  they  did  not  work  in  the  same  fac- 
tory. Without  Sunday  the  family  life  was  com- 
pletely broken.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
mother  and  the  children  at  least  should  have  a day  of 
rest  each  week,  — a day  in  which  the  children  could 
go  to  catechism  ; a day  in  which  the  housekeeper 
should  put  in  order  the  home  and  the  clothes  of  all. 
At  the  same  time  the  master  of  the  mill  (we  do  not 
speak  of  the  owner,  but  of  the  manager)  needed 
rest  from  time  to  time.  Especially  in  its  early  days, 
his  imperfect  machinery  needed  frequent  repairs  and 
minute  inspection.  Poorly  taken  care  of,  it  would 
use  more  coal,  and  coal  was  dear.  There  was,  there- 


IND  US  TRIAL  /DELATIONS. 


I I I 


fare,  a sort  of  unconscious  accord  between  the  rude 
machine  with  its  iron  muscles,  and  the  weakest  mem- 
bers of  the  working  family,  — the  wife  and  the  child; 
and  Sunday  rest  was  thereby  restored. 

Restored,  but  in  part  only  ; for  if  the  operatives 
who  have  toiled  during  the  week  can  enjoy  the  rest 
of  the  seventh  day,  the  morning  of  Sunday  sees  the 
coming  of  a class  of  workingmen  who  can  work  only 
at  that  time,  — men  engaged  in  cleaning  and  repair- 
ing of  the  machinery,  locksmiths,  firemen,  machin- 
ists, the  carpenters,  and  other  special  workers,  some- 
times the  overseers,  whom  the  manager  compels  to 
return  to  the  mill.  So  that  Sunday  becomes  a spe- 
cial day  of  work  for  a whole  class  of  workingmen. 

There  is  another  class  of  industries  which  do  not 
require  motive  power,  such  as  the  manufacturing  of 
gas  to  light  cities,  and  building.  In  both,  Sunday 
rest  is  little  or  not  at  all  observed.  It  is  the  same 
thing  with  printing-houses  working  for  the  daily 
journals. 

There  is  another  form  of  labor, — that  connected 
with  railway  traffic,  which,  though  extensive  and  im- 
portant, is  not  embraced  in  our  present  inquiries.  It 
of  itself  offers  a wide  field  of  study. 

It  follows  from  what  we  have  said  concerning  man- 
ufacturing on  a small  scale,  which  is  so  favorable  to 
Sunday  work,  and  the  condition  of  manufacturing  on 
a large  one,  in  which  the  exceptions  as  to  Sunday 
rest  are  still  so  numerous  and  deplorable,  that  the 
work  to  be  done  in  order  to  reach  the  end,  — Sunday 
rest  universally  and  joyfully  respected,  — is  still  im- 
mense, and  needs  nothing  less  than  the  efforts  of  all 
its  supporters. 

The  obstacles  to  a general  observance  of  Sunday 


I 12 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


are  complicated  in  France  with  prejudices  which  it 
is  unfortunately  very  difficult  to  overcome.  The 
natural  defenders  of  the  Sunday  rest  are  the  minis- 
ters of  religion,  who,  in  other  nations,  exert  a great 
and  legitimate  influence.  But  it  is  impossible  to 
deny  the  alienation  which  has  taken  place  in  our 
country  between  the  representatives  of  the  Catholic 
religion  and  a considerable  part  of  the  population,  or 
ignore  the  disastrous  consequences  which  it  has  had 
upon  the  question  before  us. 

The  Catholic  Church  has  ever  professed  to  respect 
and  to  encourage  Sunday  observance.  The  knowl- 
edge of  this  fact,  and  that  priests,  reasonably  enough, 
should  have  taken  in  hand  the  defence  of  this  noble 
cause,  has  sufficed  to  make  the  radicals  and  the  so- 
cialists of  the  workingmen’s  party  protest  against 
appointing  Sunday  as  a day  of  rest.  An  echo  of 
these  divisions  has  resounded  in  the  chamber  of  dep- 
uties, and  it  has  not  dared  to  ignore  the  manifesta- 
tions of  the  radical  party.  The  fear  of  seeming  to 
yield  to  the  injunctions  of  clericalism  has  paralyzed 
its  courage  ; and  by  its  votes,  it  has  not  gone  beyond 
indicating  the  legal  obligation  of  one  day  of  rest  in 
seven,  without  being  able  to  make  up  its  mind  to 
determine  the  day.  A considerable  and  noisy  sec- 
tion of  the  workingmen’s  party  refuse  the  day  of  rest 
for  fear  of  falling  back  into  the  intolerance  and  fanat- 
icism of  the  past.  Accordingly,  in  consequence  of 
these  differences,  and  of  dissension  among  the  very 
persons  who  have  an  immediate  and  personal  interest 
in  hastening  a solution  of  the  problem  and  in  obtain- 
ing the  freedom  of  Sunday,  the  work  is  retarded  and 
endangered.  Notwithstanding  these  deplorable  hin- 
drances and  misunderstandings,  the  question  of  Sun- 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


T 13 

day  rest  has  been  forced  upon  public  attention,  and 
with  unexpected  power  and  success.  The  press  has 
taken  up  the  matter,  committees  of  workingmen  have 
discussed  it.  It  is  now  a part  of  the  claims  of  em- 
ployees of  all  classes;  it  takes  hold  of  many  minds 
strongly  ; and  this  unexpected  agitation,  which  might 
have  been  deemed  impossible  in  our  country,  — too 
often,  alas!  indifferent  to  such  problems, — shows  a 
progress  in  public  opinion  which  forecasts  happy 
results.  The  Popular  Sunday  League  has  come  at 
the  right  moment.  Its  influence  is  constantly  in- 
creasing. Great  corporations  show  themselves  favor- 
able, and  the  managers  of  the  vast  works  of  private 
industries  are  generally  animated  with  the  best  spirit 
toward  their  employees. 

Why  is.it  that  at  such  an  opportune  hour,  and  when 
the  best  minds,  scientists  and  thinkers,  are  unanimous 
in  recognizing  the  necessity  of  a day  of  rest  for  the 
workingman,  we  should  have  to  notice  this  deep- 
seated  dissension  among  those  who  have  most  to 
gain  by  the  ultimate  establishment  of  Sunday  Rest  ? 
To  all  those  who  are  still  troubled  by  the  recollec- 
tion of  a past  forever  gone,  and  to  the  frivolous  ones 
who  see  in  this  agitation  but  an  occasion  to  protest 
against  ideas  that  are  not  theirs,  we  would  say : 
Legislators,  who  have  the  responsibility  of  social 
laws,  workingmen,  who  bow  under  the  yoke  of  cease- 
less toil,  do  not  delay,  by  your  divisions  and  your 
rancor,  the  advent  of  the  day  which  shall  restore 
freedom  and  rest  to  the  oppressed  multitudes.  Do 
not  add  to  the  difficulties  that  arise  from  the  nature 
of  things,  from  the  interests  at  stake,  and  from  selfish 
considerations,  obstacles  created  by  your  imagina- 
tion, troubled  by  phantoms  of  the  past.  The  ques- 


SUNDAY  REST. 


114 

tion  is  not  to  fight  clericalism.  The  enemy  is  not 
there . The  enemy  is  the  weakening  of  your  strength, 
worn  out  by  a labor  without  end.  The  enemy  is  the 
destruction  of  your  family  life,  which  will  exist  only 
in  name,  if  the  father,  the  mother,  and  the  children 
have  no  longer  one  single  day  in  the  week  to  see 
each  other,  to  spend  together  a few  hours  free  from 
daily  cares.  The  enemy  is  drunkenness  and  dissipa- 
tion, which  watch  you,  and  from  which  you  seek  fatal 
pleasures,  if  by  your  fault  you  deprive  yourselves  of 
the  pure  pleasures  which  God  and  Nature  have  given 
you,  and  which  you  have  voluntarily  given  up. 

But  if  certain  leaders  of  the  workingmen’s  party 
have  not  hesitated  to  protest  against  Sunday  rest, 
we  must  add  that  their  number  is  very  small,  and 
that  the  immense  majority  of  workingmen  will  accept 
legal  Sunday  rest.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  employer, 
as  having  the  responsibility  of  souls,  to  fight  cour- 
ageously against  the  small  encroachments  of  labor 
upon  the  day  of  rest.  This  task  will  not  always  be 
free  from  difficulties.  There  are  the  old  habits  and 
ways  to  be  resisted.  With  a little  perseverance  this 
can  be  done.  The  French  workingman  has  a quick 
intellect  and  good  sense.  He  will  recognize  that  the 
stoppage  of  Sunday  work  is  not  for  the  direct  and 
pecuniary  interest  of  the  employer  ; that  it  is  a good 
way,  morally  profitable  to  all ; and  when  the  usage 
shall  have  become  general,  the  workingman  will  be 
the  first  to  protest  against  any  return  to  the  old 
order  of  things.  Sunday  will  become  too  precious  to 
him  for  any  one  ever  to  rob  him  of  it. 

It  is  toward  this  happy  solution  that  the  efforts  of 
all  must  be  directed  who  have  at  heart  the  regenera- 
tion of  our  society  and  peace  between  all  classes. 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


IIS 

Moral  victories  are  bound  one  to  the  other,  and  good 
will  not  remain  fruitless.  A great  blessing  rests  upon 
the  nations  which  have  submitted  themselves  to  the 
beneficent  and  divine  law  of  Sunday  rest.  Yes,  “the 
Lord  has  blessed  the  day  of  rest  and  hallowed  it.” 


SUNDAY  REST  IN  METAL-WORKING,  MINES,  AND  GLASS- 
MAKING IN  FRANCE. 

A.  GIB  ON, 

Paris . 

The  Metallurgic  Industries.  — In  these  indus- 
tries, which  employ  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  people,  Sunday  is  generally  respected. 
The  work  is  healthy,  although  certainly  very  labori- 
ous, on  account  of  the  high  temperature  of  the  fur- 
naces in  which  the  metals  are  smelted,  and  also  on 
account  of  the  heat  of  the  molten  metal  when  drawn 
for  casting  or  rolling.  The  workman  has  to  put 
forth  great  physical  exertion,  but  his  fatigue  is  largely 
due  to  the  heat  in  which  he  works.  The  process  of 
casting  does  not  subject  him  to  such  a high  tempera- 
ture, except  at  the  times  of  tapping  and  working  in 
the  crucibles.  This  is  also  true  of  the  making  of 
steel  into  ingots ; but  the  operations  which  follow, 
the  puddling,  casting,  rolling,  and  forging  of  iron  and 
steel,  are  very  wearing  on  the  men,  on  account  of  the 
length  of  time  required  for  doing  them.  But  this  is 
not  the  place  to  enter  into  technical  details.  Every 


1 16 


SUNDAY  REST. 


one  will  understand  that,  by  the  very  nature  of  the 
work,  it  is  necessary  that  as  far  as  possible  the  ma- 
chinery should  be  kept  constantly  running.  Thus  in 
the  working  of  iron,  Sunday  rest  is  made  absolutely 
necessary  and  indispensable,  since  the  constant  exer- 
tion and  high  temperature  are  causes  of  great  fatigue  ; 
and  however  perfect  the  machinery  may  be,  the  vast 
quantity  of  the  metal  handled  greatly  increases  the 
strain  on  the  men. 

I must  not  neglect  to  say  that  the  weekly  day  of 
rest  is  indeed  observed  in  the  majority  of  our  fur- 
naces, although  it  is  not  universal.  The  excuse  that 
is  frequently  given  for  not  observing  Sunday,  is  the 
expense  of  building  the  fires  and  raising  the  furnaces 
to  the  working-heat.  This  excuse,  however,  seems  to 
me  open  to  discussion,  and  I,  for  my  part,  do  not  con- 
sider it  sufficient.  For  the  furnaces,  on  account  of 
the  intensity  of  the  fires,  are  easily  put  out  of  repair, 
and  hence  the  waste  of  fuel  and  metal  is  perceptibly 
increased.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  have  the 
furnaces  in  perfect  condition ; and  the  repairing  of 
the  various  parts  every  week  is  the  best  security  for 
good  work.  It  is  also  important  that  the  powerful 
and  complex  engines  which  work  and  handle  the 
heavy  masses  of  metal,  and  make  them  into  rails, 
locomotives,  and  wagon  tires,  plates  for  our  warships, 
and  cannon  and  shell  for  our  army  and  navy,  — it  is 
important,  I say,  that  all  these  steam-engines,  boilers, 
rollers,  stampers,  crushers,  etc.,  should  be  in  a per- 
fect state  of  repair  ; and  a Sunday  of  rest  permits  the 
examination  and  refitting  of  all  these,  and  secures 
their  perfect  working. 

One  is  bound  to  conclude  from  these  explanations 
that  the  interests  of  all  unite  for  the  observance  of 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


n 7 

Sunday  rest  among  the  metal-working  population  of 
France.  During  my  entire  active  career,  both  as 
director  of  the  Company  owning  the  smelting-works 
at  Montataire,  and  as  a director  of  the  forges  of 
Commentry,  I have  always  observed  this  day  of 
rest ; and  I have  done  so  with  the  consent  of  the  ex- 
ecutive boards  of  both  companies,  and  with  the  firm 
conviction  that  it  was  for  the  good  of  all  concerned. 

However,  I do  not  wish  to  give  my  opinion  alone. 
In  respect  to  the  metallurgic  industries,  I have  soli- 
cited the  advice  of  my  colleagues  in  various  places  ; as 
the  north,  the  Champagne,  the  Loire,  etc.  In  the 
north,  among  the  great  factories  which  surround 
the  towns  of  Valenciennes  and  Maubeuge,  Sunday 
rest  is  strictly  observed ; and  I shall  especially  men- 
tion Anzin,  Denain,  the  steel  works  of  the  north  and 
east,  the  furnaces  of  M.  M.  Sepulchre  & Co.,  the 
blast  furnaces  of  the  north,  and  many  others.  In 
the  furnaces  of  these  regions,  with  the  exception  of 
blast  and  Martin  furnaces,  in  which  steel  and  castings 
are  made,  all  labor  is  stopped  from  six  o’clock  Satur- 
day evening  until  six  o’clock  Monday  morning;  but 
in  the  Haute-Marne  department,  where  large  numbers 
of  men  are  employed,  I regret  to  say  that  but  one 
day  in  fourteen  is  observed.  This  is  the  case  in  the 
process  of  puddling,  which  changes  the  crude  iron 
into  pig  iron,  and  also  in  the  rolling  of  the  inferior 
grades  of  iron,  in  both  which  operations  adult  work- 
men are  employed. 

In  the  mills  where  machine  iron  is  made,  boys  of 
sixteen  years  and  upwards  are  employed,  and  the  law 
in  regard  to  child  labor  prohibits  Sunday  work  for 
children  of  this  age.  We  heartily  approve  of  the  law, 
and  it  is  a practical  necessity  ; but  it  is  sad  to  see  the 


ii  8 


SUNDA  Y REST, 


children  enjoying  a day  of  rest  while  the  father  is 
forced  to  work,  by  an  employer  who  shirks  his  duty. 
But  we  find  some  employers  who  serve  as  examples  ; 
as,  for  instance,  M.  Lemut,  who  manages  the  exten- 
sive works  at  Clos  Mortier.  For  eight  or  ten  years 
these  works  have  been  stopped  regularly  every  Sun- 
day, at  least  from  six  a.m.  until  six  p.m.,  and  every 
fortnight  the  time  is  increased  on  account  of  repairs. 
It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  although  the 
works  are  closed  for  only  twelve  hours,  the  workmen 
have  twenty-four  hours  of  rest,  because  the  force  is 
divided  into  a day  and  a night  shift ; and  the  day 
shift,  stopping  its  work  Saturday  evening,  does  not 
begin  again  until  Sunday  evening  ; likewise,  the  shift 
stopping  work  Sunday  at  six  a.m.  does  not  begin 
again  until  Monday  at  the  same  time.  Thus  there 
is  a regular  weekly  rest  of  twenty-four  hours  for  all 
the  workmen,  but  not  including,  mark  you,  the  force 
charged  with  overhauling  the  furnaces  and  machin- 
ery, which  are  examined  and  repaired  during  that 
time.  In  England  and  some  other  countries,  in 
order  to  avoid  keeping  even  these  men  working, 
some  of  the  works  close  Saturday  noon,  and  do  not 
open  again  until  Monday  evening ; but  the  present 
state  of  affairs  with  us  does  not  permit  us  to  hope 
for  a like  period  of  rest. 

In  concluding  what  I have  to  say  concerning  the 
Haute-Marne,  I must  quote  from  the  interesting 
remarks  of  M.  A.  Saglio  on  Sunday  rest.  That  gen- 
tleman, who  is  well  informed  concerning  the  methods 
of  his  friends  in  the  metal-working  centres  of  our 
country,  speaks  as  follows : “ In  the  Centre  the 
works  at  Chatillon  and  Commentry,  and  also  at  Com- 
mentry  Fourchambault,  give  a rest  on  Sunday  to  all 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS . I 19 

men  employed  in  smelting  and  the  puddling  of  cast 
iron,  and  in  the  rolling  and  construction  shops,  but 
the  blast  furnaces  and  steel  works  are  kept  running. 
These  last  rarely  stop  except  for  repairs.  However, 
those  in  charge  always  strive  to  establish  a rotation 
in  the  working  forces,  so  that  one  Sunday  morning  in 
a fortnight  is  secured  for  rest.” 

Some  very  good  measures  have  been  taken  in 
other  establishments,  and  I will  give  two  examples 
of  these.  Mr.  Bathault,  my  successor  at  Montataire, 
suspended  work  at  those  steel  works  on  Sunday,  but 
this  was  not  kept  up  after  his  withdrawal.  Among 
the  iron  works  of  Audin  Court,  one  Martin  furnace, 
which  has  been  in  operation  about  eighteen  months, 
closes  regularly  every  Sunday ; and,  as  is  not  surpris- 
ing, the  work  turned  out  is  of  a superior  quality, 
since  the  workmen,  feeling  fresh,  are  able  to  do  good 
work. 

The  iron  works  of  Loire,  Rive  de  Gier,  Saint- 
Chamond,  and  the  works  at  Larette  and  Etaings,  all 
observe  Sunday,  and  the  work  ceases  from  Sunday 
at  six  a.m.  until  Monday  at  the  same  time.  But  we 
had  seen  that  a rest  of  twenty-four  hours  is  not 
really  sufficient ; and  in  the  iron  works  of  Alsace  and 
of  the  Moselle,  which,  unfortunately,  have  been  lost 
to  France,  the  men  were  given  thirty-six  hours. 
This  rule  is  also  in  vogue  at  Crenzot,  not  universally, 
but  among  a large  majority  of  the  works.  So,  upon 
the  whole,  the  French  metal  works  observe  a weekly 
day  of  rest,  the  principal  exception  being  the  Haute- 
Marne,  where  but  one  day  in  fourteen-  is  kept  ; and 
in  most  districts  Sunday  is  fixed  upon  as  the  rest 
day,  without  the  thought  of  any  other. 

In  my  opinion,  the  period  of  rest  should  be  at 


120 


SUNDAY  REST. 


least  thirty-six  hours,  and  I do  not  think  so  long  a 
rest  would  be  injurious  to  the  business  of  any  firm. 
Still,  we  can  hardly  hope  for  a rest  for  all  the  men 
engaged  in  repairing,  and  those  employed  in  the 
blast  furnaces  and  steel  works  ; although,  in  the  case 
of  the  steel  works,  the  opinion  has  been  expressed 
that  it  would  result  in  better  work,  and  we  believe 
this  opinion  has  a good  foundation.  The  most 
active  industrial  countries,  America,  Germany,  and 
England,  observe  Sunday  rest,  and  the  results  show 
not  only  that  it  is  possible,  but  that  it  is  advanta- 
geous. Every  effort  should  be  made  that  the  rest 
may  become  universal  in  our  own  France,  and  this 
great  end  may  be  accomplished  by  the  union  of  all 
the  mill  masters. 


Mines.  In  the  mines , and  especially  the  coal-mines, 
Sunday  work  is  the  exception.  From  the  north  a 
miner  writes,  “ In  the  collieries  Sunday  observance 
is  general.  The  only  men  engaged  are  those  em- 
ployed in  making  the  necessary  repairs  on  the  min- 
ing and  draining  machinery,  and  of  the  water  and  air 
pipes.  . In  some  cases  there  is  an  exception  in  the 
drainage  work,  and  generally  the  proportion  of  the 
force  employed  on  Sunday  is  not  more  than  one 
per  cent  of  the  whole.  This  question  concerns  us 
deeply/’ 

Another  miner  in  the  same  district  writes  thus  : 
“ I am  very  zealous  for  the  cause  of  Sunday  rest, 
and  in  our  mines  we  observe  it  strictly.  For  a long 
time  we  have  recognized  the  evils  of  Sunday,  work 
from  a moral  as  well  as  from  a physical  standpoint. 
Among  us  the  rest  is  made  as  complete  as  possible, 


INDUSTRIAL  RE  LA  LIONS. 


121 


the  work  being  confined  to  those  making  necessary 
repairs.” 

In  the  Loire,  the  manager  of  one  of  the  largest 
mines  in  the  valley  writes  as  follows  in  regard  to 
this  question  : “ I have  always  enjoined  upon  my  en- 
gineers not  to  have  any  work  done  on  Sunday,  except 
what  was  absolutely  necessary.  The  work  which 
had  to  be  done  was  ascertained  Saturday  evening, 
and  the  men  did  not  begin  until  7.30  a.m.  In  our 
collieries  the  work  is  very  much  increased,  since  the 
seams  are  inclined  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees. 
The  lowering  of  the  coal  and  earth  is  done  by  cars 
which  move  incessantly  day  and  night ; and  the  force 
engaged  in  the  repairs  is  six  per  cent  of  the  whole, 
and  in  winter  sometimes  as  great  as  twelve  per  cent. 
I have  given  my  engineers  the  strictest  orders  to 
reduce  this  large  percentage,  and  I hope  for  suc- 
cess.” This  regard  for  the  men  subject  to  hard  and 
dangerous  labor  is  highly  commendable.  In  closing 
he  adds,  “All  the  other  mine  directors  and  engineers 
use  their  influence  with  the  managers  of  the  com- 
panies of  the  Loire,  in  order  to  do  away  with  all 
Sunday  work.” 

So  we  see  that  Sunday  rest  is  for  the  best  interest 
of  the  coal-mine,  and  if  other  industries  were  exam- 
ined impartially  as  regards  this  question,  we  feel 
sure  that  it  would  be  found  advantageous  for  them 
all. 

Glass-Making.  Sunday  rest  has  its  disadvan- 
tages in  some  industries,  and  especially  is  this  true 
in  glass-making.  Here  it  appears  to  us  that  we  have 
real  difficulties,  which  have  increased  recently  on 
account  of  the  new  appliances.  Gas  furnaces  have 


122 


SUNDAY  REST 


taken  the  place  of  fuel  furnaces,  and  this  has  per- 
mitted a great  increase  in  the  capacity  of  the  work. 
Immense  furnaces,  termed  bath  furnaces,  have  been 
constructed,  in  which  many  tons  of  glass  are  melted, 
and  considerable  expense  is  connected  with  the  shut- 
ting down  of  these.  These  bath  furnaces  are  used 
chiefly  for  making  glassware.  For  the  manufac- 
ture of  window-glass  large  rooms  are  built,  which 
are  heated  to  a very  high  temperature  for  melt- 
ing the  glass  ; and  although  the  shutting  down  of 
these  is  expensive,  still,  the  expense  is  not  so  great 
as  that  connected  with  the  stopping  of  the  bath  fur- 
naces. It  will  readily  be  seen  that  all  suspension 
of  work  in  this  trade  would  be  followed  by  a corre- 
sponding increase  in  the  price  of  the  finished  article; 
and  in  order  to  secure  Sunday  rest  it  would  be  ne- 
cessary for  all  manufacturers  to  join  in  its  obser- 
vance, as  is  done  in  the  glass-works  of  England. 

These  preliminary  explanations  are  necessary  in 
order  that  you  should  appreciate  the  letters  received 
from. the  most  prominent  men  of  this  industry.  One 
foreman  of  a glass  factory  in  the  Centre  writes  as 
follows  : “ I am  heartily  in  favor  of  Sunday  rest,  and 
of  its  observance  by  the  children  according  to  law. 
Many  of  the  adults  would  be  benefited  by  it.  But 
as  it  is  impossible  to  stop  the  bath  furnaces,  the  men 
who  handle  the  glass  as  it  comes  from  the  furnaces 
work  every  Sunday,  and  rest  only  while  repairs  are 
being  made.  On  the  other  hand,  the  men  who  have 
charge  of  the  furnaces  have  one  Sunday  in  two;  and 
for  this  purpose  we  have  a rotation  of  the  gangs 
engaged  in  keeping  up  the  fires.”  One  of  the  best- 
known  glass-men  of  the  east,  who  tried  the  exper- 
iment of  Sunday  rest  in  his  factory  for  several 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS . 


123 


months,  writes  thus : “ Sunday  is  not  observed  by  the 
glass-making  population.  Four-fifths  of  the  men 
who  own  factories  regard  it  as  a working-day.  We 
for  several  months  have  tried  to  give  our  entire 
force  a rest  on  Sunday,  and  kept  only  four  out  of 
three  or  four  hundred  at  work,  but  the  plan  did  not 
prove  practicable.  Our  furnaces  suffered  more  from 
the  rest  than  they  would  have  done  from  the  work, 
and  the  expense  of  keeping  them  closed  was  very 
great.  And  what  was  more,  the  day  was  not  kept 
as  a day  of  rest  ; for  the  men  got  good  wages  and 
spent  them  freely,  so  that  Sunday  was  for  them  a 
day  of  debauchery,  passed  mainly  in  the  tavern,  and 
in  many  cases  Monday  was  spent  in  almost  the  same 
way.  In  short,  the  financial  results  of  the  experi- 
ment were  so  disastrous  that  Sunday  work  had  to 
be  resumed.  It  is  my  opinion  that  glass-makers  are 
a very  difficult  class  of  men  to  manage  ; and  the  men 
themselves  have  on  every  occasion  verified  this  opin- 
ion, as  may  be  seen  in  the  squares  of  Belgium,  of 
Lyons,  of  the  Gironde,  in  the  north,  and  in  the 
Allier.” 

A manager  of  one  of  our  most  important  window- 
glass  factories  gladly  gives  us  his  views  in  these 
words:  “The  work  of  melting  goes  on  Sunday  as 
on  other  days.  It  would  be  possible  to  let  the  fires 
go  down  on  Sunday,  but  as  a result  the  out-put 
would  be  slightly  diminished,  and  the  prices  would 
be  correspondingly  increased.  Our  company  desires 
to  keep  the  rest-day  ; and  to  accomplish  this  end 
they  think  of  doing  away  with  the  supplementary 
processes.  The  melting  furnaces  form  only  a part 
in  the  manufacture  of  window-glass.  The  processes 
of  dressing,  polishing,  and  the  final  operations,  which 


124 


SUJVBAY  BEST. 


are  performed  by  special  machinery,  are  not  in 
operation  on  Sunday  ; only  the  necessary  repairs 
being  made.  It  is  proper  for  me  to  state  here  that 
the  strict  observance  of  Sunday  is  not  the  rule  among 
glass-makers;  but  our  company  has  decided  to  try 
it,  and  to  undergo  the  necessary  expenses.” 

The  chief  engineer  of  a mine,  who  is  well  versed 
in  the  manufacture  of  glass,  and  very  zealous  in  the 
cause  of  Sunday  rest,  writes  thus  : “ The  glass 
factories  are  generally,  although  wrongly,  considered 
as  not  allowing  Sunday  rest.  I do  not  share  in  this 
view,  and  recently  the  director  of  a glass  factory  as- 
sured me  that  there  was  no  foundation  for  it.” 

The  entire  system,  as  I have  said,  and  as  this 
director  has  verified,  hangs  on  the  fact  that  the  rest 
must  be  observed  by  all,  or  the  few  who  persist  in 
keeping  it  will  invariably  lose.  The  conclusions 
which  we  arrive  at  from  the  foregoing  letters  are 
that  the  glassware  factories  present  the  greatest  ob- 
stacles to  Sunday  rest,  and  that  the  other  branches 
of  glass-making  present  gradually  decreasing  diffi- 
culties. In  concluding  what  I have  to  say  concern- 
ing these  industries,  allow  me  to  bring  before  you  the 
fact  that  the  great  factories  at  Baccarat  carefully 
observe  Sunday  rest.  These  great  establishments, 
which  do  honor  to  our  country  from  an  industrial 
point  of  view,  are  none  the  less  remarkable  for  their 
care  of  the  workingman. 

The  few  facts  which  I have  presented  concerning 
three  great  industries  give  proof  that  many  of  the 
employers  are  in  perfect  accord  with  our  views  ; and 
what  applies  to  these  industries  may  also  be  said  of 
the  building  trades  and  commerce,  and  of  the  many 
smaller  industries.  Incessant  labor  is  the  worst 


INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS. 


125 


kind  of  slavery,  and  it  is  frightful  to  see  it  in  a coun- 
try whose  boast  is  that  it  aids  in  all  human  progress. 
However  important  and  desirable  a weekly  rest  may 
be,  we  cannot  hope  that  it  will  be  easily  accomplished 
by  immediate  and  radical  measures.  The  solution  of 
this  question  rests  largely  with  the  executive  boards 
of  our  great  industrial  companies  ; but  they  are  ever 
looking  after  the  financial  interests  intrusted  to 
them,  and  this  is  their  excuse  for  continuing  the 
abuse.  The  stockholders  of  the  companies  also  have 
an  important  part  to  play  : if  they  declare  in  favor  of 
a day  of  rest,  it  will  give  a support  and  authority  to 
their  foremen  that  will  accomplish  their  desires. 

It  is  necessary  to  study  carefully  the  difficulties 
before  attempting  to  solve  them  ; radical  measures 
before  a careful  investigation  would  only  increase 
the  difficulties,  and  many  times  result  in  failure. 

Let  all  the  factories  co-operate,  and  let  the  mana- 
gers instruct  their  foremen  to  study  into  the  effects 
of  a rest  day  on  the  condition  of  the  works.  Co- 
operation alone  can  assure  success,  and  the  executive 
boards  are  sure  to  succeed  if  they  co-operate.  But 
why  should  we  not  consider  the  wishes  of  those  who 
are  the  most  interested,  — the  workmen  themselves  ? 
Do  not  their  opinions  and  their  wishes  deserve  a 
hearing  in  a question  which  interests  them  to  such 
a degree  ? In  this  way,  and  only  in  this  way,  can  a 
day  of  rest  become  universal  ; and  it  must  be  empha- 
sized that  the  day  should  not  be  spent  in  idleness, 
but  rather  in  worship. 

You  will  permit  me,  in  concluding  this  paper,  to 
express  my  admiration  for  the  manner  in  which  you 
in  the  free  land  of  America  have  learned  to  under- 
stand that  Sunday  work  is  contrary  to  divine  law,  — 


126 


SUNDAY  REST 


which  should  ever  be  held  sacred  by  all  humanity,  — 
as  well  as  to  all  human  civilization.  The  day  of  rest 
is  most  dear  to  the  workingman,  and  we  should  do 
our  utmost  to  have  the  thousand  organs  of  the  press 
proclaim  its  necessity. 

Ah  ! certainly  we  must  agitate  ; but  it  is  of  great 
importance  also  that  the  disinherited,  for  whom  we 
agitate,  should  co-operate  with  us.  This  cry  for  rest 
must  arise  from  the  very  depths  of  our  country,  and 
hasten  on  the  good  time  when  all  may  join  in  rest 
and  worship. 


Translated  by  H.  A . Lip  sky. 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


EFFECTS  UPON  CHARACTER  AND  HABITS.  Rev.  O. 
Prunier.  Secretary  of  the  Societe  Fran^aise  pour  /’ observation 
du  Dimanche . Paris,  France. 

SUNDAY  REST  FOR  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  IN  FAC- 
TORIES, STORES,  AND  DOMESTIC  SERVICE.  Alice  L. 
Woodbridge,  Secretary  W or  king  women' s Society , New  York. 

ADDRESS.  By  Mrs.  Florence  Kelly.  State  Inspector  of  Fac- 
ioriesy  Chicago,  111. 

ADDRESS.  By  Miss  Jane  Addams.  Hull  House,  Chicago,  111. 

RELATION  OF  SUNDAY  REST  TO  THE  HOME  AND  TO 
FAMILY  LIFE.  Mrs.  J.  H.  Knowles,  Newark,  N.  J. 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


THE  RELATION  OF  SUNDAY  REST  TO  THE  FUNDA- 
MENTAL PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  MORAL  LIFE. 


BY  O.  PRUNIER . 


[We  regret  to  have  to  abbreviate  this  thoughtful  paper.  Though 
occasioned  by  the  condition  of  the  working-classes  in  Europe,  its  argu- 
ment deserves  the  serious  consideration  of  American  workingmen  and 
wage-earners.  — Ed.] 


HE  advocates  of  Sunday  rest  have  ably  pre- 


1 sented  the  many  beneficent  results  of  its  obser- 
vance. We  propose  to  go  farther,  and  to  show  that 
it  is  an  institution  demanded  by  the  very  principles 
of  man’s  moral  nature,  and  bestowed  upon  him  by 
the  Creator  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  proper 
development  of  moral  life.  And  in  speaking  here 
of  the  moral  nature  of  man,  we  leave  out  of  view  the 
religious  element. 

i.  Nobody  will  contradict  us  when  we  affirm  that 
the  first  and  necessary  basis  of  the  moral  life  is  the 
existence  in  man  of  those  higher  feelings  and  thoughts 
which  raise  him  above  the  visible  and  narrow  sphere 
of  his  physical  life.  The  ideas  of  right  and  duty  pre- 
suppose the  elevation  of  the  mind  above  external 
realities.  A life  entirely  devoted  to  the  satisfaction 
of  physical  wants,  occupied  only  with  material  con- 


T29 


130 


S UArDA  Y REST 


cerns,  and  depressed  by  monotonous  and  unrelieved 
work,  is  soon  closed  against  all  moral  development. 

The  demands  of  material  life  have  never  pressed 
upon  man  so  heavily  as  they  do  to-day.  The  prog- 
ress of  civilization  makes  these  demands  every  day 
more  numerous  and  overwhelming.  They  impose 
their  irresistible  tyranny  upon  every  class  of  work- 
ers, in  every  degree  of  the  social  scale.  There  is  no 
part  of  our  modern  society  which  can  claim  to  have 
escaped  the  terrible  pressure  to  which  the  human 
soul  is  subjected  by  the  necessities  of  existence. 
Working,  eating,  drinking,  cares  and  pleasures  both, 
incline  man  so  strongly  to  earth  and  to  things  of  the 
earth,  that  he  finally  loses  power  to  lift  himself  above 
these  things.  He  becomes  unable  to  appreciate  or 
even  discern  anything  but  what  he  can  lay  hold  of 
with  his  hands,  can  buy  or  sell,  can  eat  or  drink. 

And  if  this  evil  is  general,  it  is  especially  marked 
in  industrial  communities  and  among  working-classes. 
Reduced  most  of  the  time  to  the  part  of  a mere  wheel 
of  a vast  machinery,  fastened  to  a monotonous  and 
disheartening  task,  the  workingman  finds  himself  ex- 
posed to  a slow  and  almost  inevitable  materialization, 
in  which  is  involved  a corresponding  demoralization. 
“ This  our  work  is  indeed  a brutalizing  work,”  said  a 
railway  man  one  day  to  the  late  Alexander  Lombard, 
the  lamented  champion  of  Sunday  rest  in  Switzer- 
land. And  have  we  not  all  heard  similar  expressions  ? 

Men  who  are  compelled  to  ceaseless  and  monoto- 
nous toil  must  be  provided  with  a safeguard.  For 
our  part  we  do  not  know  of  a better  one  than  Sunday 
rest.  Sunday  is  the  day  that  releases  the  working- 
man from  the  tyrannical  power  of  material  things,  — 
the  day  when  spirit  and  soul  revive  in  him.  Thanks 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS . 


I3I 

to  Sunday,  for  fifty-two  days  in  the  year  man  is  not  a 
mere  money-making  machine.  Transformed  for  six 
days  into  pen,  spade,  hammer,  beast  of  burden,  he 
returns  on  the  seventh  to  his  true  nature.  Sunday 
restores  to  him  an  intellectual  and  moral  life  which 
enables  him  to  resist  the  depressing  influences  of  his 
outward  life.  Without  Sunday,  he  remains  an  un- 
protected victim  of  the  most  formidable  materialistic 
propaganda  that  has  ever  threatened  humanity. 

If  a man  were  a machine,  which  only  needed  to  he 
kept  in  good  repair  for  the  accomplishment  of  its 
work,  perhaps  he  might  get  sufficient  rest  by  redu- 
cing the  hours  of  labor,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
lengthening  the  time  of  meals  and  repose.  Being  such 
as  he  is,  however,  he  cannot  satisfy  himself  with  the 
unconscious  rest  which  merely  restores  the  muscular 
and  nervous  forces.  He  needs  a rest  which  shall 
revive  mind  and  soul,  and  strengthen  the  moral  aspi- 
ration. In  one  word,  he  wants  Sunday  rest. 

2.  If  the  moral  life  thus  requires,  first  of  all,  cer- 
tain higher  aspirations  and  interests,  without  which 
it  must  soon  die  out  in  man  and  in  society,  it  also 
requires  not  less  imperiously  the  sense  of  personal 
independence  and  dignity.  To  fulfil  his  moral  destiny 
man  requires  something  more  than  vague  spiritual 
conceptions  and  confused  yearnings  after  higher 
states  of  being.  He  must  be  assured  that  he  has 
a right  to  himself,  and  has  the  power  of  disposing  of 
himself. 

In  the  conditions  of  existence  at  present  imposed 
by  the  social  order,  how  is  the  sense  of  self-posses- 
sion, of  personal  freedom,  possible  ? Some  answer 
the  question  by  proposing  some  social  reform,  or,  if 
necessary  the  entire  reorganization  of  the  present 


132 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


social  order.  We  will  not  stop  to  inquire  how  far 
hopes  or  promises  thus  awakened  are  likely  to  be 
realized.  However  efficient  such  measures  may  be 
supposed  to  be,  they  are  remedies  altogether  too 
remote  and  problematical  for  existing  evils.  All 
that  is  thus  even  doubtfully  offered,  involving  per- 
haps the  most  dangerous  social  crises,  and  possibly 
bitter  disappointment,  we  can  secure  from  Sunday 
rest  ; and  indeed  we  already  possess  it,  in  proportion 
as  we  appreciate  and  utilize  this  institution. 

Sunday  is  already  in  the  midst  of  our  modern 
society  — like  a guardian  angel  spreading  its  tutelar 
wings  over  the  classes  whose  rights  and  liberties  are 
threatened  by  the  hard  exigencies  of  industrial  life. 
Thanks  to  this  day,  the  toilers,  enslaved  by  the  un- 
relenting necessities  of  the  social  organization,  find 
liberty,  on  one  day  at  least,  to  cultivate  the  conscious- 
ness of  personal  freedom  and  responsibility. 

When  emancipation  was  to  be  proclaimed  in  the 
English  colonies,  the  champions  of  slavery  com- 
plained that  the  negroes  were  allowed  the  rest  and 
other  advantages  of  Sunday.  In  their  judgment  this 
institution  was  responsible  for  that  emancipation  of 
mind  and  soul  which  rendered  inevitable  the  outward 
and  legal  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  They  boldly 
said,  that  “ chapels  and  schools  ought  to  have  been 
proscribed  ; we  should  insist  on  closing  them  even 
now.  If  we  imagine  it  possible  to  keep  men  as  slaves 
who  can  read,  who  are  allowed  to  cultivate  the  higher 
nature,  we  are  sadly  mistaken.”  An  avowal  such  as 
this  is  too  valuable  to  be  overlooked.  When  a slave 
ceases  to  be  exclusively  a working  machine  ; when 
he  reads  ; when  he  becomes  a moral  being  ; when 
his  spirit  and  conscience  are  restored  to  life  ; in  short, 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS . 


133 


when  he  becomes  a man,  slavery,  so  far  as  he  is  con- 
cerned, is  at  an  end. 

But  the  reverse  is  equally  true.  The  laboring  man 
who  toils  on  day  after  day,  the  whole  week,  the 
whole  month,  the  whole  year,  and  is  thus  deprived 
of  the  opportunity  which  Sunday  affords  for  the  cul- 
ture of  his  mind,  his  heart,  his  conscience,  or  his 
soul,  is  sinking  into  slavery.  Gradually  he  loses  the 
sense  of  his  independence  and  dignity,  and  is  thus 
without  the  indispensable  conditions  of  moral  devel- 
opment and  even  of  moral  life  itself.  The  more  uni- 
form and  mechanical  the  labor,  the  more  inevitable  is 
this  result.  The  growth  of  industries  and  the  conse- 
quent minute  division  of  labor,  involving  on  the  part 
of  each  workingman  the  constant  repetition  of  the  ' 
same  movement,  in  which  neither  intelligence  nor  will 
has  any  part,  literally  reduce  the  workingman  in  our 
manufactories  to  the  rank  of  a machine.  Fatigue 
alone  reminds  him  that  he  is  a man. 

But  one  need  not  be  a laborer  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  this  term  to  experience  the  difficulty  in  maintain- 
ing this  consciousness  of  personal  freedom  and  dig- 
nity under  the  pressure  of  incessant  and  monotonous 
toil  — to  understand  how  Sunday  rest  tends  directly 
to  maintain  and  develop  this  consciousness.  It  is 
true  of  all  who  are  in  positions  of  dependency,  involv- 
ing mere  mechanical  work,  — office  employees  whose 
sole  business  is  to  add  up  figures,  or  to  transcribe 
copies ; printing  compositors,  standing  all  day  long 
at  cases  from  which  they  pick  incessantly  the  type 
to  form  words  and  sentences  whose  meaning  they 
have  no  opportunity  to  comprehend;  domestic  ser- 
vants, humiliated  not  only  by  their  peculiar  task, 
but  also  by  a style  of  dress,  a conventional  deport- 


l34 


SUNDAY  REST, 


ment,  and  obsequious  forms  which  are  a constant 
proclamation  of  their  condition  of  subordination  ; 
soldiers,  transformed  into  walking  machines,  bending 
the  knees  or  the  arms  at  word  of  command,  forbid- 
den every  spontaneous  motion  of  body  or  mind  — in- 
deed, obliged  to  act,  see,  or  think  through  their 
superiors,  crushing  personal  impulse  by  passive  obe- 
dience. Many  are  they  who  are  thus  losing  that 
consciousness  of  personal  freedom  and  dignity,  with- 
out which  there  can  be  no  moral  life.  Every  one  of 
them  would  add  his  testimony  to  that  of  the  young 
man  who,  speaking  to  us  of  the  time  he  had  just 
spent  in  military  service,  said,  “ Never  before  had  I 
so  much  appreciated  Sunday.  It  was  the  only  day 
that  I felt  myself  still  a man.”  Such  indeed  is  Sun- 
day to  every  worker  whose  toilsome  and  tedious  labor 
through  all  the  week  is  calculated  to  lower  himself 
in  his  own  estimation,  even  to  make  him  weary  of 
himself  and  his  life.  Sunday  is  the  very  day  when, 
feeling  himself  to  be  master  of  his  own  person  and 
of  his  own  time,  he  again  becomes  conscious  of 
his  character  and  dignity  as  a man,  thoughtful  of  his 
duties  and  responsibilities,  and  proudly  accepts  his 
privileges  as  husband,  as  father,  as  citizen.  To  one 
thus  humiliated  and  depressed  by  the  slavery  of 
material  life  and  the  tyranny  of  the  social  organiza- 
tion, Sunday  is  the  day  of  recompense. 

3.  But  as  this  moral  life  is  not  possible  without 
the  higher  thoughts  and  feelings,  without  the  con- 
sciousness of  personal  freedom,  neither  is  it  attain- 
able without  the  suppression  of  individual  selfish- 
ness. To  become  moral  beings,  our  lives  demand 
another  end  than  self-interest  and  personal  enjoy- 
ment ; we  must  accept  responsibilities  and  duties 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


135 


that  often  require  self-denial.  We  must  admit  that 
a life  wholly  occupied  with  material  labor,  a life  with 
no  Sunday,  will  inevitably  drift  in  the  other  direction. 
Under  such  conditions,  the  feeling,  in  a sense  true, 
that  one  must  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  must 
earn  his  own  living,  becomes  very  often  a hard,  stern, 
selfishness,  which  presently  destroys  in  one’s  mind 
the  very  germs  of  the  moral  life.  The  excessive 
competitions,  the  tyrannical  exigencies  of  the  “ strug- 
gle for  life,”  make  the  danger  more  real  and  serious 
to-day  than  ever.  But  it  also  brings  into  clearer  light 
the  salutary  effects  of  Sunday  rest  in  our  modern 
society. 

But  yet  more  directly,  Sunday  observance  counter- 
acts selfishness,  and  favors  the  growth  of  justice  and 
charity,  which  are  the  highest  expressions  of  the 
moral  life.  The  man  wholly  absorbed  with  the  one 
thought  of  self-support,  living  and  laboring  during 
the  whole  week  as  if  he  were  the  only  person  in 
the  world,  and  had  only  personal  needs  and  advan- 
tages to  think  of,  discovers,  thanks  to  Sunday  rest, 
that  there  are  around  him  things  he  is  not  justified 
in  overlooking,  obligations  he  cannot  escape  without 
harm  to  himself.  Home,  country,  friends,  and  the 
church  find  and  claim  him  again.  Thus  Sunday 
brings  to  man  the  inner  life  of  self-ownership,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  outward  life  of  self-devotion  ; and 
this  it  is  which  constitutes  pre-eminently  the  high 
morality  of  Sunday  rest. 

But  there  is  an  objection  sometimes  urged  against 
the  arguments  just  advanced.  “ Whatever  your  theo- 
ries,” we  are  asked,  “ is  it  not  true  that  the  use  of 
Sunday  is  decidedly  different  from  what  you  have 
represented  ? Is  not  Sunday  of  all  the  days  of  the 


136 


SUNDAY  REST. 


week  the  one  most  used  for  drunkenness  and  dissipa- 
tion ? Are  not  the  dangers  to  morality  from  unin- 
terrupted labor  less  formidable  than  those  made 
possible  by  Sunday  rest  ? 

First  of  all  we  acknowledge  the  seriousness  of  this 
objection.  We  confess  and  deplore  the  habit  of 
spending  the  day  of  rest  so  as  to  turn  its  benefits 
into  evils,  and  make  it  a peril  both  to  individual  and 
to  social  morality.  This  is  largely  true  in  most  of 
the  countries  of  continental  Europe.  The  numerous 
public  festivals  and  the  various  opportunities  for 
gambling  and  unwholesome  pleasure  certainly  make 
Sunday  for  the  masses  of  the  people  of  those  coun- 
tries the  day  least  favorable  to  moral  development. 

Sunday  so  spent,  instead  of  contributing  to  a 
higher  intelligence,  only  makes  the  mind  emptier 
and  more  frivolous.  Instead  of  lightening  physical 
labor,  it  makes  it  more  distasteful.  On  the  morrow 
of  such  a Sunday  the  workshop  seems  darker  and 
the  task  less  attractive  than  ever.  Instead  of  a day 
of  rest,  it  is  one  of  fatigue.  Instead  of  a blessing,  it 
is  the  workman's  ruin,  eating  up  his  wages  and  de- 
stroying his  love  of  economy  and  order. 

Now  to  these  indisputable  facts  we  oppose  the 
following  suggestions  : In  the  first  place,  the  liability 
to  abuse  of  liberty  is  no  reason  for  restraining  its  use. 
If  Sunday  rest  is  a man’s  right,  demanded  by  the 
wants  of  his  physical  and  moral  nature,  no  one  is 
authorized  to  deprive  him  of  it  under  the  pretence 
that  he  might  make  a bad  use  of  it.  The  advo- 
cates of  slavery  to  whom  we  have  referred  had  no 
stronger  argument  against  the  emancipation  of  the 
negro  than  this  : “ What  will  they  do  with  the  lib- 
erty you  propose  to  give  them  ? They  will  waste 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS . 


137 


it  iru  idleness,  and  spend  in  debauchery  the  money 
they  earn.  They  will  perhaps  abuse  their  strength, 
and,  where  they  are  a majority,  be  guilty  of  violence 
against  the  persons  and  property  of  their  former 
masters.”  These  were  possible  results  — yet  they 
were  not  accepted  as  valid  objections  ; and,  more- 
over, the  abuse  of  Sunday  is  often  due  to  the  lack 
of  regular  Sunday  rest — just  as  incessant  toil  incites 
to  alcoholic  drinking,  the  workingman  imagining  that 
the  stimulant  repairs  his  wasted  strength,  while  in 
fact  it  gives  him  an  excessive  and  morbid  craving 
after  unnatural  amusements  and  unwholesome  pleas- 
ures. Those  especially  inclined  to  abuse  Sunday  are 
generally  those  who  are  without  the  facilities  for 
enjoying  it  regularly  and  profitably. 

It  is  with  Sunday  rest  as  it  is  with  liberty.  To 
make  the  right  use  of  it,  to  secure  its  good  fruits, 
one  must  become  accustomed  to  it.  The  guaranty 
against  evil  results  from  a Sunday  Rest-Day  will  be 
secured  by  making  its  observance  more  and  more 
general  and  regular.  To  demonstrate  this  we  may 
compare  the  countries  where  Sunday  is  generally 
observed  with  those  in  which  it  is  neglected.  Such 
a comparison  would  prove  that  the  regular  obser- 
vance of  this  institution  is  directly  connected  with 
the  development  of  good  morals. 

If  Sunday  rest  were  for  the  first  time  proposed  to 
us,  we  would  certainly  all  say  : “ Here  is  an  admirable 
institution  ; we  must  put  it  in  practice.’"  Happily 
this  institution  is  in  existence  : we  already  possess 
and  know  its  advantages.  It  is  not  a question  of 
finding  it,  or  of  creating  it.  The  important  thing  is 
not  to  let  it  fall  into  disuse,  but  to  avail  ourselves  of 
all  its  blessings. 


138 


SUNDAY  REST 


SUNDAY  REST  FOR  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  IN  FAC- 
TORIES, STORES,  AND  DOMESTIC  SERVICE. 

ALICE  L.  W O ODBRID GE. 

PERHAPS  there  is  no  surer  way  of  proving  the 
necessity  of  Sunday  rest  for  women  in  fac- 
tories, stores,  affd  domestic  service,  than  by  describ- 
ing some  of  the  conditions  under  which  they  are 
employed.  In  treating  the  subject  in  this  manner 
I do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  assuming  a spirit 
of  hostility  to  employers,  as  this  is  far  from  my  pur- 
pose or  position.  Many  years’  experience  behind 
the  counter  and  in  the  workshop  has  convinced  me 
that  there  are  thousands  of  just,  kind-hearted,  pure- 
minded  employers  in  all  branches  of  business,  — em- 
ployers who  take  a deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
those  in  their  employ,  who  provide  more  than  the  law 
requires,  who  do  this  gladly,  without  supervision  or 
request,  and  who  study  the  comfort  of  their  work 
people  at  great  sacrifice  to  themselves. 

There  are  thousands  of  women  who  make  all  pos- 
sible provisions  for  the  comfort  of  domestics,  who 
provide  proper  hours  of  rest  and  recreation,  and  are 
most  considerate  of  their  interests.  I will  go  farther, 
and  say  that  I believe  that  the  majority  of  employers 
desire  to  be  just  in  dealing  with  employees  ; and  I 
will  add  that  I know  that  many  of  the  working 
people  are  utterly  untrustworthy,  and  so  indifferent 
to  business  interests  that  it  is  truly  wonderful  that 
any  consideration  is  shown  to  them.  But  behind  all 
this  is  the  indisputable  fact  that  conditions,  not  indi- 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS . 


139 


viduals,  are  responsible.  My  sole  object  in  presenting 
these  conditions  is  to  prove  the  need  of  absolute  rest 
on  Sunday. 

It  is  unquestionable  that  the  most  important  factor 
in  the  production  of  all  things  necessary  for  the  well- 
being of  the  human  race  is  the  producer,  and  that  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  production  depends  upon  the 
skill  and  intelligence  of  the  producer.  Animal  life 
proves  that  physical  labor,  independent  of  intellect- 
ual and  moral  guidance,  is  always  irresponsible.  The 
human  being  is  first  and  supremely  animal  until 
physical  needs  are  supplied.  Intellect  is  first  called 
into  action  in  supplying  animal  needs,  and  is  utterly 
selfish  in  its  character  unless  guided  by  a higher 
power.  Morality  is  that  higher  power,  that  Godhood 
in  man,  which  develops  according  as  it  controls 
physical  and  mental  forces.  When  physical  and 
mental  forces  are  used  only  to  supply  animal  needs, 
the  moral  force  becomes  dormant,  and  the  human 
being  becomes  the  irresponsible  animal.  Such  is 
the  condition  of  thousands  of  toilers  to-day. 

I cannot,  in  presenting  the  proofs  of  this  state- 
ment, overlook  that  prime  factor  in  this  great  evil, 
child  labor,  — child  labor,  which,  like  an  anaconda, 
winds  its  folds  about  the  throats  of  nations,  and 
slowly  but  surely  strangles  their  moral  life. 

In  the  United  States  alone  in  1880,  1,118,356 
children,  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  sixteen  years, 
were  employed  in  mines,  factories,  and  .stores.  Think 
of  it,  1,118,356  ! An  army  as  vast  as  ever  fell  in  the 
annals  of  history.  An  army  which,  marching  eight 
abreast,  and  two  feet  apart,  would  extend  fifty  miles. 
A multitude  on  whose  wee  shoulders  rests  the  life, 
the  immortality,  of  the  nation. 


140 


SUNDAY  REST 


A million  children,  rising  in  the  cold  gray  of 
wintry  mornings,  at  the  shriek  of  whistle,  or  the 
stroke  of  bell,  snatch  a meagre  breakfast,  and,  shiver- 
ing in  scanty  clothing,  hurry  through  the  chill  air. 
They  rush  along  with  hearts  half  numb  with  terror, 
lest  they  be  too  late  for  the  clanging  gates  to  shut 
them  out  of  God’s  air  and  sunshine,  into  a world  of 
rush  and  hum,  of  sickening  smells  and  stifling  at- 
mospheres. All  day  long  they  run  to  and  fro,  or 
ply  their  busy  fingers  under  stern  taskmasters,  not 
daring  to  lift  their  eyes,  or  let  their  tired  hands  rest. 
The  weary  hours  lag,  the  tired  heads  droop,  but  they 
must  work  on.  They  drag  themselves  home  through 
the  darkness,  only  to  drop  down  upon  their  pitiful 
beds  to  sleep.  They  have  no  recreation,  no  childish 
joys,  no  comprehension  of  life  ; they  know  nothing 
but  toil. 

In  our  great  cotton,  thread,  and  yarn  mills,  children 
walk  twenty  miles  a day.  Three-fourths  of  the  yarn 
manufactured  is  spun  by  children  under  sixteen  years 
of  age.  In  the  tobacco  industry,  and  in  sweat-shops, 
children  as  young  as  six  years  are  employed.  In 
button  factories  children  eyelet  thirty-six  gross  daily. 
Think  of  holding  the  hands  in  one  position  for  ten 
hours  ! Children,  guiding  dangerous  machinery,  do 
this.  On  fast  express  trains  engineers  can  work  but 
three  hours  daily,  fifteen  days  in  the  month,  because 
of  the  strain  upon  the  nerves  ; the  weak  nerves  of 
children  are  taxed  as  much  proportionately,  and  for 
ten  hours  daily.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  in  childhood 
these  little  ones  become  eye-servants,  careless,  indif- 
ferent, resentful  ? that  they  become  entirely  animal  ? 

In  our  mercantile  houses  children  are  in  even 
worse  condition.  Factory  laws  in  twenty-one  States 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


141 

have  prohibited  the  employment  of  children  under  a 
certain  age  ; but  in  mercantile  houses  the  youngest 
children  are  found.  The  restrictions  placed  upon 
them  are  as  severe  as  those  of  criminals.  They  are 
fined  for  absence,  tardiness,  mistakes,  and  indifferent 
work.  If  their  tired  feet  lag,  they  are  rebuked. 
They  are  employed  from  ten  to  fourteen  hours  a day. 
In  many  stores  they  work  until  eleven  and  twelve 
o’clock  on  Saturday  night.  Their  average  wages 
are  but  $1.60  per  week,  running  as  low  as  seventy- 
five  cents  per  week.  Their  work  would  break  the 
strongest  constitution.  The  ceaseless  running  to 
and  fro  bearing  heavy  burdens,  the  climbing  long 
flights  of  stairs, — for  they  are  seldom  allowed  to  use 
the  elevators,  — the  stern  exactions,  the  harsh  re- 
bukes, soon  show  the  effect  upon  them  mentally, 
morally,  and  physically. 

These  children  go  home  to  sleep  in  the  loathsome 
atmosphere  of  tenement  houses,  and  when  Sunday 
comes  they  seek  relief  in  the  streets.  They  are  too 
tired  to  enjoy  anything  that  is  not  of  the  most  excit- 
ing nature.  Their  nerves  are  pitched  at  too  high  a 
key  to  enable  them  to  appreciate  the  pleasures  of  in- 
telligent surroundings.  If  they  read,  it  must  be  some 
blood-curdling  tale  or  fevered  romance  pitched  on 
the  same  high  key.  The  significance  of  the  Sab- 
bath is  unknown  to  them. 

Often  these  children  are  the  offspring  of  parents 
able  to  support  them,  but  creatures  like  themselves, 
in  whom  the  animal  predominates.  The  slender 
wages  of  the  child  too  often  goes  to  supply  the 
family  beer.  Statistics  prove  that  child  labor  does 
not  increase  the  family  income  ; on  the  contrary,  re- 
duces it.  They  further  prove  that  in  communities 


142 


SUN  DA  Y REST. 


where  child  labor  is  abolished  the  population  be- 
comes more  moral,  intelligent,  and  healthy. 

Among  women  equal  conditions  exist.  While  fac- 
tory laws  have  materially  improved  sanitary  condi- 
tions and  hours  of  labor,  yet  the  circumstances 
under  which  women  are  employed  are  often  barbar- 
ous. Work  in  the  majority  of  factories  is  done 
under  the  piece  system,  the  amount  earned  depend- 
ing upon  the  skill  of  the  operator. 

In  our  large  suit-houses  women  must  make  a dozen 
tea-gowns  a day  to  earn  $1.50;  a dozen  ladies’  wrap- 
pers, for  from  40  cents  to  $1.25;  three  thousand 
paper  bags  for  90  cents  ; a dozen  children’s  dresses 
for  $1.50;  stitch  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
pairs  of  shoes  for  $1.80;  a dozen  shirts,  for  from  40 
cents  to  $1.20. 

Who  ever  thinks  of  what  it  means  to  move  the 
hands  with  lightning-like  rapidity  for  ten  hours  ? Yet 
women  running  sewing-machines  that  take  three 
thousand  stitches  per  minute  do  this.  Who  thinks  of 
what  it  means  to  handle  iron  bolts  all  day  ? Women  in 
bolt  factories  frequently  have  convulsions  from  hand- 
ling the  cold  iron.  Who  thinks  of  the  terrible  strain 
upon  the  nervous  system  from  the  noise  and  jar  of 
machinery  ? In  many  factories  women  stand  all  day, 
no  seats  being  provided.  In  many  dressmaking  es- 
tablishments women  are  compelled  to  sit  on  chairs 
without  back,  employers  claiming  that  they  sew' 
faster. 

Although  manufacturing  establishments  generally 
close  on  Sunday,  this  does  not  by  any  means  signify 
a day  of  rest  for  employees.  Thousands  of  families, 
parents  and  children,  work  side  by  side  in  factories, 
and  Sunday  to  them  means  simply  a change  of  work. 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


143 


The  day  is  spent  in  washing,  cooking,  mending,  and 
cleaning,  and  Monday  morning  finds  them  more  tired 
than  Saturday  night.  It  is  a frequent  complaint 
among  employers  that  the  poorest  work  is  done  on 
Monday,  and  this  is  often  due  to  the  fact  of  the 
heavy  toil  on  Sunday.  There  are  in  New  York  City 
twenty-seven  thousand  married  women  wage-earners, 
the  majority  of  whom  devote  Sunday  to  household 
duties.  Added  to  these  are  twenty-five  thousand 
single  women  past  middle  life,  who  live  in  furnished 
rooms,  and  spend  Sunday  in  a like  manner. 

Women  in  stores  are  supposed  to  work  but  ten 
hours  a day,  but  in  busy  season  they  often  work 
until  midnight  without  supper  or  extra  pay.  Many 
States  have  enacted  laws  required  seats  for  sales- 
women ; but  they  are  generally  disregarded,  and  in 
some,  women  have  been  fined  if  found  sitting.  They 
are  also  fined  for  absence,  tardiness,  and  mistakes. 
No  matter  how  late  they  may  have  worked  the  pre- 
vious night,  they  are  often  fined  if  late  the  next 
morning. 

Investigation  proves  that  the  majority  of  women 
cannot  stand  for  two  years  without  suffering  perma- 
nent physical  injury ; yet  they  dare  not  acknowledge 
that  they  are  suffering  from  impaired  health,  fearing 
dismissal. 

Posted  in  one  of  the  largest  mercantile  houses  in 
the  United  States  is  the  following  notice  : — 

“We  remind  you  that  we  keep  an  account  of  all  your  ab- 
sences, although  only  for  a few  hours,  and  every  mark  counts 
against  your  value ; if  it  is  because  of  ill  health,  it  may  be  un- 
avoidable, nevertheless,  persons  whose  health  enables  them  to 
be  here  all  the  time  can  make  the  best  records,  and  others  need 
not  complain  if  higher  salaries  are  refused  when  asked  for.  Do 


144 


SUNDAY  REST. 


not  get  the  idea  that  too  much  is  required  of  you,  or  that  you  are 
required  to  attend  too  closely  to  business.  You  are  employed 
to  give  yourselves  entirely  to  your  duties.” 

This  firm  gives  two  weeks’  vacation  in  summer, 
but  it  has  a list  of  fifty-six  mistakes,  any  one  of 
which  forfeits  a day’s  vacation.  To  this  list  is  added 
the  following : — 

“To  secure  fairness  to  all  no  excuses  can  be  accepted  for 
any  of  the  above-mentioned  blunders,  nor  for  any  others  that 
may  arise  through  failure  to  exercise  forethought  and  reasonable 
judgment.  Never  say  that  you  were  hurried,  for  speed  and  ac- 
curacy are  a part  of  business.  Decision  rests  upon  the  simple 
question,  did  you  make  the  blunder  ? ” 

Who  can  comprehend  the  nervous  strain  upon 
women  placed  under  such  restrictions  ? A physi- 
cian in  a New  York  dispensary  tells  of  twenty-five 
hundred  cases  treated  from  one  store  in  two  years, 
the  direct  result  of  nervous  strain,  long  hours  of 
standing,  and  poor  food. 

Excessive  fines  are  invariably  the  rule  where  the 
younger  women  are  employed,  merchants  claiming 
that  the  young  are  so  negligent  and  indifferent,  that 
it  is  impossible  to  conduct  business  otherwise ; but 
they  do  not  stop  to  think  that  long  hours  of  toil 
under  such  restrictions  weaken  brain  and  body, 
and  are  the  direct  cause  of  careless  and  indifferent 
workers.  They  do  not  stop  to  think  of  what  it  means 
,to  measure  ribbon  for  ten  hours;  of  what  it  means 
to  try  on  gloves  for  ten  hours  in  succession.  A 
woman  behind  a glove  counter  tells  of  trying  seven- 
teen pairs  of  gloves  on  a customer  without  stopping. 
They  were  all  of  one  size  and  line,  but  would  be 
easier  to  put  on  when  needed.  The  customer  fainted 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


145 


at  the  end,  but  the  saleswoman  turned  to  the  next 
one  and  tried  on  seven  pairs. 

In  many  stores  the  cashiers  and  bundle  wrappers 
are  in  basements  utterly  devoid  of  ventilation,  or  on 
platforms  elevated  to  within  a few  feet  of  the  ceiling 
where  the  atmosphere  is  insufferable. 

Sunday  rest  among  saleswomen  is  as  rare  as 
among  women  in  factories.  It  is  too  frequently  a 
day  of  mending  and  making.  Under  such  conditions 
the  morals  become  degenerated,  and  employers  too 
often  take  advantage  of  this.  Many  employers  give 
women  plainly  to  understand  that  they  do  not  expect 
them  to  live  upon  the  salaries  offered,  but  must  find 
other  means  of  support.  One  of  the  largest  cloak 
manufacturers  in  the  country,  when  the  women  asked 
for  a raise  in  wages  from  $3.50  to  $4.50,  said,  “ Do 
you  see  that  street'  out  there?  if  you  do  not  earn 
enough  here  to  support  yourselves  go  out  there  and 
finish  up.”  It  is  a truth  beyond  question  that  many 
houses  do  not  employ  women  unless  they  are  lax  in 
morality. 

But  you  will  say  why  do  these  women  submit  ? 
Why  do  they  not  go  into  families  where  they  can 
lead  virtuous  lives,  have  better  homes,  shorter  hours, 
and  better  wages.  I speak  from  knowledge  when  I 
deny  this.  Our  foundling  asylums  and  houses  of 
ill-fame  prove  that  the  largest  number  of  inmates 
from  the  working  class  are  domestics.  The  average 
wages  of  domestics  is  but  $11  per  month.  The 
domestic  has  no  time  to  call  her  own.  If  arrange- 
ments are  made  at  the  time  of  engagement  for  cer- 
tain half-days,  the  mistress  seldom  hesitates  to  refuse 
this  time,  if  it  is  to  her  immediate  advantage  to  do  so. 
This  is  not  the  case  with  other  employments.  The 


146 


SUNDAY  REST. 


plea  that  the  domestic  has  all  the  time  after  her 
work  is  finished  is  a hypocritical  one.  It  is  a fact 
too  well  known,  that  even  the  most  extravagant 
housewives  are  economical  with  servants.  They  do 
not  pay  two  for  work  which  one  can  possibly  do  in 
sixteen  hours. 

A domestic’s  life  is  a dreary  round  of  toil  rendered 
yet  more  distasteful  through  lack  of  companionship. 
There  is  no  diversion  from  the  broom,  the  wash-tub, 
and  the  cooking-table.  She  is  as  completely  ostra- 
cized from  family  life  as  though  banished  to  a desert. 
Although  she  contributes  most  to  the  family  comfort, 
her  welfare  is  the  last  considered.  Her  room  is  gen- 
erally the  poorest  in  the  house ; if  in  the  country,  it 
is  the  coldest  and  most  scantily  furnished.  In  the 
city  it  is  often  an  inside  room  in  the  top  of  the  house, 
utterly  deyoid  of  ventilation,  or  worse  yet,  a box,  or 
closet,  leading  from  the  kitchen.  Frequently  the 
food  is  of  poor  quality,  and  even  the  privilege  of  the 
bathroom  is  denied  her. 

When  working  hours  are  over,  the  domestic  sits  in 
the  kitchen  ready  to  run  at  the  beck  and  call  of  the 
family.  Instead  of  having  time  for  rest  on  Sunday, 
it  is  the  custom  in  many  families  to  have  an  elabo- 
rate dinner  on  that  day,  and  she  rarely  secures  a mo- 
ment’s rest  before  four  o’clock.  I am  sorry  to  add 
that  society  people  devote  Sunday  more  and  more 
to  entertaining  friends,  and  thus  increase  demands 
upon  domestics. 

Those  who  can  afford  to  entertain  can  afford 
another  day  than  Sunday.  Those  who  must  have 
more  abundant  dinners  can  see  that  they  are  pre- 
pared largely  on  Saturday,  or  assist  in  the  Sunday 
preparation.  With  proper  foresight  the  household 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


147 


duties  of  Sunday  can  be  greatly  diminished,  and  it 
is  our  duty  to  see  that  this  is  done. 

Many  claim  that  work  can  be  accomplished  in  less 
time  than  is  generally  taken,  but  the  very  fact  of  its 
monotony  is  sufficient  cause  for  lagging  hands  and 
indifferent  work.  Responsibility  rests  alone  upon 
moral  force ; shut  off  all  opportunities  for  its  devel- 
opment, and  mistress  and  maid  must  suffer  the 
result. 

There  is  no  dignity  except  in  service,  but  that  only 
is  true  service  which  tends  to  elevate  the  human 
race.  Service  becomes  undignified,  menial,  when 
directed  into  channels  which  degenerate  the  mental, 
moral,  and  physical  powers  of  any  class.  Idleness 
and  overwork,  excess  and  deprivation,  have  the  same 
effect  upon  mankind : they  deaden  the  moral  powers, 
and  reduce  the  human  to  the  animal. 

In  a night  inspection  of  the  sleeping  apartments 
of  women  employed  in  hotels,,  hundreds  of  women 
were  found  sleeping  in  basements  and  sub-basements, 
in  rooms  utterly  without  means  of  ventilation.  ‘‘Why 
do  you  remain  here?”  I asked.  “Why  don’t  you  go 
into  families?”  “Oh,  we  have  just  as  good  accom- 
modations here  as  we  would  in  most  families,  and 
we  only  work  ten  hours  a day  and  have  a half-day 
off  every  week.” 

The  records  of  insane  asylums  show  that  the  lar- 
gest number  of  women  inmates  are  domestics,  thus 
proving  that  those  who  work  for  the  longest  number 
of  hours  at  employment  from  which  the  mind  has  no 
diversion  are  most  subject  to  insanity.  The  largest 
number  of  women  criminals  are  also  domestics.  The 
census  of  1880  shows  that  while  the  increase  of  pop- 
ulation was  but  30.23  per  cent,  the  increase  of  defec- 


148 


SUDNA  V REST. 


tive  classes  was  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  per  cent, 
and  the  greater  part  of  these  were  the  children  of 
laboring  people.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
our  working  women  prefer  other  employment,  and  it 
should  not  be  considered  a discredit  to  them  that 
they  do.  Is  it  not  rather  a discredit  to  the  house- 
wife who  first  degrades  household  duties  by  consid- 
ering herself  superior  to  their  performance,  and  then 
renders  them  menial  by  shutting  off  all  means  of  ad- 
vancement from  those  whom  she  employs  ? We  are 
too  apt  to  think  of  the  working  people  as  of  a differ- 
ent mould  as  well  as  class,  but  they  are  as  surely  God’s 
handiwork  and  possessed  of  the  same  capacities  as  the 
rest  of  mankind. 

It  has  previously  been  stated  that  conditions,  not 
individuals,  are  responsible.  ' It  requires  the  co-oper- 
ation of  all  classes  to  create  conditions.  If  attention 
has  first  been  called  to  the  customs  of  employers,  it 
is  not  because  they  are  the  only  selfish  ones,  but 
because  with  larger  opportunities  they  should  be  the 
first  to  develop  the  nobler  impulses.  When  a certain 
judge  asked  a Chinaman  if  he  ever  told  a lie,  the  reply 
was,  “ Oh,  yes  ; Chinaman  lie  just  like  Melican  man.” 
Truth,  justice,  and  selfishness  are  not  confined  to  any 
class.  The  working  people  are  selfish,  and  too  often 
are  their  own  worst  enemies. 

No  stronger  proof  need  be  given  of  this  than  the  - 
fact  that  for  four  years  past  the  Working  Women’s 
Society  have  tried  to  secure  a Saturday  half-holiday 
for  the  saleswomen  in  the  east  side  stores  of  New 
York  City.  Whenever  the  merchants  are  requested 
to  do  so,  the  invariable  reply  is  : “ We  should  be  glad 
to  close,  but  our  customers  are  all  working  people  who 
are  paid  on  Saturday,  and  who  will  persist  in  shopping 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS . 


149 


on  that  day.  We  are  obliged  to  keep  our  stores  open 
to  accommodate  them.” 

This  excuse  is  too  true.  It  is  a fact  that  women 
from  the  uptown  stores  where  the  half-holiday  is 
given,  resort  at  once  to  Grand  Street  to  do  their 
shopping.  In  many  of  the  stores  where  these  women 
are  employed  they  are  allowed  no  time  to  make  pur- 
chases, and  this  may  seem  a slight  excuse  ; but  the 
true  reason  is  that  working  people  are  selfish,  and 
the  only  reasonable  excuse  for  it  is  that  they  are 
in  the  positions  of  hungry  animals  seeking  to  secure 
their  share  of  a too  scanty  meal.  It  would  take  more 
than  one  full  meal  to  develop  generous  natures  in 
the  animals,  and  it  will  take  more  than  eight  or  nine 
half-holidays  in  a year  to  so  far  develop  the  work- 
ing people  that  they  will  consider  the  rights  of  their 
fellow-creatures. 

Said  a wealthy  merchant  in  Grand  Street  : “ My 
dear  madam,  if  I grant  a half-holiday  to  my  employ- 
ees during  July  and  August  I shall  lose  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars,  which  will  go  to  the  small  dealers 
in  this  locality/'  Said  a bookkeeper  in  a wholesale 
house,  “ If  I do  not  do  my  shopping  on  Saturday 
afternoon  I shall  be  obliged  to  lose  an  hour  or  two 
during  the  week."  The  merchant  attended  to  busi- 
ness about  five  hours  a day,  the  bookkeeper  had  her 
half-holiday.  Both  claimed  their  hours  of  leisure  as 
a right  : neither  recognized  that  every  right  has  its 
attendant  duty  ; that  no  human  being  should  use  his 
right  or  privilege  to  inflict  a wrong  upon  another. 

The  Saturday  half-holiday  is  needed  by  employer 
and  employee.  It  is  needed  as  a time  of  recreation 
and  preparation  for  a Sabbath  of  rest.  All  shop- 
ping can  be  done  before  Saturday  noon.  Women 


SUNDA  Y REST 


150 

of  leisure  can  certainly  find  time  before  that  hour. 
Popular  opinion  has  already  closed  the  majority  of 
our  large  stores  at  night,  and  customers  who  for- 
merly purchased  during  the  evening  have  not  suffered 
thereby.  If  working  people  must  shop  on  pay-day, 
then  let  them  unite  in  petitioning  to  be  paid  on  an- 
other day.  If  a Monday  pay-day  were  instituted,  it 
would  prove  a benefit  to  all  classes,  and  to  all  legit- 
imate business.  Less  money  would  be  spent  fool- 
ishly, and  more  would  be  wisely  distributed  for 
necessities,  beside  the  gain  of  needed  rest. 

The  truth  concerning  our  working  people  is  that 
they  need  more  rest,  need  time  for  recreation,  time 
for  moral  development.  The  majority  of  the  toilers 
are  born  tired  because  of  the  environments  of  parents  ; 
they  inherit  an  unnatural  craving  for  rest,  for  nour- 
ishment, for  recreation.  They  nurse  it  from  the 
mother’s  breast.  Until  this  craving  is  appeased 
they  cannot  rise  above  the  animal.  The  martyrs  of 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago  are  not  looked  for  to-day. 
A higher  state  of  enlightenment  has  taught  us  that 
a surer  way  of  becoming  images  of  God  is  through 
dealing  justly  with  all  our  members.  Wipe  out  the 
craving  after  animal  needs  by  justly  supplying  them, 
and  the  thoughts  turn  naturally  to  higher,  holier 
things.  “ As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  waterbrook, 
so  does  my  soul  pant  for  thee,  O God,”  should  be 
the  psalm  of  the  woman  binding  shoes  as  well  as  of 
the  king  of  long  ago;  but  she  needs  time  to  realize 
that  she  has  a soul,  time  to  comprehend  its  needs. 

The  world  to-day  is  advancing  at  so  swift  a pace, 
business  is  conducted  under  such  exacting  regula- 
tions, that  it  is  impossible  and  unnecessary  for  the 
human  being  to  endure  the  present  strain.  There 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS.  I 5 I 

is  no  need  for  the  long  hours  of  labor.  Manufac- 
turers and  merchants  who  have  tried  the  eight  hour 
plan  agree  that  employees  take  more  interest,  do 
better  work,  and  thus  secure  a surer  market,  and  in 
the  end  accomplish  as  much.  The  housewife  would 
secure  the  same  result  by  curtailing  the  hours  of 
domestics.  If  household  duties  cannot  be  performed 
in  reasonable  hours,  it  is  a proof  that  more  help  is 
needed  ; and  the  further  expense  would  be  amply 
compensated  for  in  the  more  faithful  performance 
of  duties,  and  more  harmonious  workings  of  the 
household. 

We  who  are  within  the  ranks  of  organized  labor 
have  inscribed  upon  our  standard,  “ Eight  hours  for 
work,  eight  hours  for  recreation,  eight  hours  for 
sleep,”  and  we  also  desire  a Sunday  in  which  to  learn 
our  responsibility  to  God  and  man.  More  and  more 
the  Sabbath  is  becoming  a day  of  labor,  or  at  least  a 
day  of  recreation.  Wider  and  wider  grows  the  gulf 
between  employer  and  employee,  because  weaker 
and  weaker  grows  the  sense  of  moral  obligation  be- 
tween man  and  man. 

It  is  time  that  we  looked  these  matters  in  the  face ; 
time  that  we  acknowledged  the  truth  that  morality 
and  spirituality  do  not  consist  in  looking  forward  to 
a future  when  we  shall  be  freed  from  the  power  of 
selfishness,  but  in  learning  to  practise  justice  here, 
that  we  may  be  able  to  appreciate  the  justice  of  that 
future. 

It  is  the  great  and  grand  object  of  organized  labor 
to  rectify  these  evils,  though  but  few  seem  to  com- 
prehend this  fact.  We  hear  of  contests  between 
employer  and  employee,  of  strikes,  sometimes  of 
riots,  and  we  condemn  them;  but  we  do  not  under- 


152 


SUNDAY  REST. 


stand  that  the  toilers  are  striking  because  it  has 
dawned  upon  them  that  they  have  latent  powers 
equal  to  those  of  any  other  human  being,  — powers 
which  can  be  used  for  the  elevation  of  mankind,  and 
for  the  development  of  which  God  and  man  will  one 
day  hold  them  responsible.  We  do  not  understand 
that  in  striking  for  these  opportunities  physical  force 
is  sometimes  used  because  it  is  the  only  means  at 
their  command.  Let  those  of  higher  intellectual  de- 
velopment extend  a helping  hand  by  showing  a better 
method,  if  such  there  be.  As  it  has  required  the  co- 
operation of  all  classes  to  create  present  conditions, 
so  it  requires  the  co-operation  of  all  to  remove  con- 
ditions which  are  impediments  to  the  progress  of 
any  class. 

That  the  world  is  awakening  to  the  needs  of  co- 
operation is  shown  through  the  international  assem- 
bling of  those  interested  in  the  cause  of  Sunday 
Rest.  This  seems  an  excellent  opportunity  to  se- 
cure the  co-operation  of  all  organizations  interested 
in  obtaining  a Saturday  half-holiday,  and  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  suggest  that  organized  efforts  to 
secure  a change  of  pay-day  will  greatly  advance  this 
movement.  It  is  no  doubt  far  nobler  for  the  indi- 
vidual to  learn  to  withstand  temptation  ; but  under 
existing  conditions  we  are  insured  against  tempta- 
tion only  through  its  removal,  and  a Monday  pay-day 
would  remove  much  of  the  temptation  to  purchase 
on  Saturday. 


SOCIAL  DELATIONS. 


153 


ADDRESS  BY  MRS.  FLORENCE  KELLY. 

It  must  be  clear  to  every  one  who  works  that  there  is 
continual  effort  on  the  part  of  employers  to  get  just  as 
long  a working-day  and  just  as  long  a working-week,  and 
just  as  short  a working-year  as  they  can.  It  is  the  ten- 
dency of  every  trade  in  this  country  to  put  into  every  work- 
ing-day, however  low  the  wages  are  made,  the  maximum 
amount  of  toil  that  can  be  crowded  into  it ; and  to  put  into 
every  working-week,  however  low  the  wages  are,  the 
greatest  amount  of  toil  possible,  and  then  to  shut  down 
work,  and  make  the  season  as  short  as  it  can  be  made,  and 
leave  the  working-people  to  take  a long  vacation  at  their 
own  expense. 

Now,  when  work  is  carried  on  in  that  way  there  cannot 
be  a Sunday  of  rest.  I feel  sure  we  shall  never  have  a 
real  Sunday  of  rest  in  this  country  until  the  whole  working- 
class  is  organized  as  one  body  of  people  who  stand  for 
rest  not  on  Sunday  only,  but  on  every  one  of  God’s  days 
through  the  year. 

I went  yesterday  to  examine  a stamping  works,  where 
are  employed  seven  hundred  men,  women,  and  children. 
I looked  through  one  branch  of  it  yesterday,  and  there 
were  sixty  children  employed  under  legal  age.  They  were 
working  in  such  noise  that  I had  to  ask  a boy  a question 
four  times  before  he  heard  me.  The  atmosphere  was 
such  that  during  my  stay  of  only  three  hours  I had  to  go 
to  the  window  again  and  again  to  get  a breath  of  air. 

Not  content  with  keeping  the  children  in  such  a noise 
and  in  such  an  atmosphere  as  that,  I found  forty  little 
boys  lying  on  a shelf  suspended  between  earth  and  heaven, 
to  save  space.  In  many  places  the  machinery  was  crowded 
so  close  that  I could  not  walk  between  the  belting,  but  had 
to  ask  the  foreman  to  stop  the  machinery  while  I passed  ; 


154 


SUNDAY  REST 


but  they  did  not  stop  the  machinery  for  the  children  to 
pass  : they  had  to  run  between  the  machinery  when  it  was 
in  motion.  On  the  upper  floor  they  cut  pieces  of  metal  to 
be  stamped  into  tin  cans,  and  they  had  this  shelf  with 
forty  little  boys  on  it  to  save  room  ; and  not  one  of  those 
children  could  by  any  ingenuity  work  in  a normal  posi- 
tion : they  were  cramped  into  all  sorts  of  postures,  some 
lying  on  their  stomachs  because  there  was  not  room 
enough  on  the  shelf,  and  there  was  not  enough  considera- 
tion for  their  comfort  to  allow  them  to  sit  comfortably. 

As  I left  the  place  I saw  a notice  on  the  door,  “ Until 
further  notice  these  works  will  run  from  seven  a.m.  till 
nine  p.m.  every  day,  including  Sunday.  Refusal  to  comply 
with  this  request  will  be  ground  for  immediate  discharge.” 
There  is  the  kind  of  Sunday  rest  that  that  very  poor 
example  of  the  employing  class  is  trying  to  force  on  his 
employees ! The  excuse  they  gave  me  was  that  in  two 
weeks  the  season  closed,  and  after  that  comes  vacation  — 
at  the  employees’  expense.  They  get  no  Sunday’s  rest 
now,  and  they  could  not  get  a restful  Sunday  after  that 
until  some  other  work  is  found. 

It  is  my  duty  to  go  evenings  to  look  for  working  women 
and  girls  who  are  making  clothing  in  their  homes  after 
working  all  day  in  a manufacturing  establishment.  They 
tell  me,  “ I do  not  want  to  break  the  eight-hour  law,  but  I 
have  got  to  break  it  or  be  fired.” 

I see  where  these  people  live  after  working  ten  and 
eleven  and  twelve  hours  in  the  day,  — what  is  their 
reward  for  that  sort  of  labor  ? Often  it  is  a miserable  base- 
ment of  one  or  two  rooms.  Their  employers  say  to  them, 
“ If  you  do  not  make  money  enough  now,  the  season  will 
end  at  Thanksgiving,  and  then  you  can  rest  all  winter, 
and  — starve.” 

It  will  be  my  duty  to-morrow  to  break  the  Sabbath  to 
that  extent  as  to  go  and  see  men  who  are  working  at 
home.  These  are  trades  in  which  labor  organization  is 


SOCIAL  DELATIONS. 


155 


very  weak.  The  stamping  trade  might  almost  be  called  a 
scab  trade.  There  is  virtually  no  union  in  it.  And  the 
same  is  true  regarding  the  candy  trade.  In  every  candy 
factory  in  this  city  you  will  find  little  children  from  ten  to 
sixteen  years  old.  Last  Christmas  those  little  children 
were  at  work  getting  the  candy  ready  for  other  children’s 
happy  Christmas  Day.  Those  children  work  from  seven 
in  the  morning  till  ten  minutes  past  nine  at  night,  with 
half  an  hour  for  dinner,  and  no  supper,  — a working-week 
of  eighty-two  hours ; and  when  Sunday  comes,  if  it  is  a day 
of  rest  at  all,  it  must  be  a day  of  rest  in  bed.  Many  of 
these  children  came  to  a school  in  which  I taught.  I had 
a roomful  of  them.  They  came  to  learn  to  read.  They 
left  after  the  first  of  November.  I used  to  see  those  chil- 
dren after  night  school  was  over  going  home  from  the 
factories.  That  is  a trade  in  which  there  is  no  union  of 
labor.  You  will  find  the  same  is  true  of  any  trade  you 
take  up.  If  there  is  a body  of  strong  working-men  organ- 
ized, standing  for  their  rights,  those  rights  will  be  respected  ; 
if  it  is  a weak  trade,  and  employers  have  everything  their 
own  way,  then  there  is  no  rest  through  the  week,  and  no 
Sunday  worth  naming  for  the  men,  women,  and  children 
employed. 

At  the  same  time  the  legislature  in  Illinois  has  done 
more  for  Sunday  rest  than  legislatures  anywhere  else  in 
the  world.  It  has  enacted  a law  prohibiting  women  and 
children  working  more  than  forty-eight  hours  in  the  week. 
If  we  succeed  in  enforcing  that  law,  the  people  can  work 
even  under  rather  unwholesome  conditions  eight  hours  in 
a day,  six  days  in  a week,  and  still  have  some  vitality  left ; 
but  there  is  a very  strong  league  of  powerful  men  openly 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  that  law.  Employers 
say,  “ Ours  is  a short  season’s  work,  and  the  people  want 
to  work  hard,  and  work  long  hours.”  The  working-people 
grasp  very  quickly  the  idea  that,  if  the  working-days  are 
shortened,  the  season  will  gradually  grow  longer.  Em- 


156 


SUNDA  V REST. 


ployers  realize  that  too,  and  they  do  not  want  it.  They 
want  their  work  done  as  shortly  and  cheaply  as  they  can 
get  it  done,  and  with  as  little  expenditure  of  fuel,  janitor 
service,  etc. 

If  you  want  a real,  quiet,  restful  Sunday  for  every  one, 
including  the  working-people,  then  I think  effort  must  be 
directed  toward  creating  a public  opinion  strong  enough 
to  find  out  who  are  the  employers  who  insist  upon  working 
at  this  fearful  intensity,  and  refuse  to  buy  goods  of  them. 
Then  there  must  be  a body  of  working-people  strong 
enough  to  stand  for  reasonable  leisure  through  the  week 
as  well  as  on  Sunday ; for  the  weak  trades  and  children 
and  women  must  not  be  left  to  the  care  of  twelve  inspect- 
ors who  have  under  their  care  sixty-six  thousand  rapacious 
employers.  The  outcome  of  a struggle  of  twelve  against 
sixty-six  thousand  is  practically  decided  in  advance  if 
public  opinion  is  not  strongly  wide  awake  behind  the 
twelve. 

I beg  of  you,  if  you  care  for  Sunday  rest,  to  watch  who 
obeys  the  eight-hour  law,  and  who  works  long  seasons 
instead  of  short,  and  give  your  support  to  law-abiding  peo- 
ple. Then  the  working-people  will  gradually  come  to  have 
leisure  enough,  so  that  their  Sunday  can  be  a real  Sunday 
of  rest. 


ADDRESS  BY  MISS 'JANE  ADDAMS. 

Perhaps  there  is  another  point  of  view  which  might  be 
taken  on  the  subject  of  more  leisure  for  working-people. 
Any  one  who  has  lived  among  the  working-people  realizes 
that  the  great  want  is  the  want  of  imagination,  the  want 
of  a higher  life,  — the  sort  of  life  which  people  take  great 
pains  to  get ; for  which  they  go  to  college ; for  which  they 
go  to  Europe ; for  which  they  read  and  .study  long  and 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS . 


157 


wearisome  hours,  — to  get  themselves  out  of  the  humdrum 
life,  to  that  wider  life  we  find  in  books.  Hence  the  desire 
for  righteousness,  which  I believe  is  stronger  in  the  hearts 
of  sturdy  working-people  than  in  any  other  class.  I be- 
lieve it  is  a feeling  after  the  higher  and  better  life. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  Sabbath  is  a sort  of  life-saving 
station  for  this  higher  life.  The  first  thing  that  comes  in 
the  way  when  you  try  to  educate  these  people  is  the  lack 
of  leisure,  and  not  only  the  lack  of  leisure,  but  the  lack  of 
spirit,  of  energy.  I am  touched  every  night  in  the  week 
by  the  fact  that  the  people  think  it  worth  while  to  eat 
their  suppers  and  change  their  clothes  and  come  to  the 
Hull  House,  — and  perhaps  they  do  not  get  there  until  eight 
or  nine  o’clock,  — for  the  sake  of  the  very  meagre  feast  we 
are  able  to  spread  for  them,  — so  very  meagre  that  I am 
ashamed  of  it.  They  cannot  come  earlier,  and  when  they 
do  come  they  are  often  so  tired  that  they  go  to  sleep. 
This  lack  of  leisure  and  lack  of  spirit  come  largely  from 
ceaseless  toil. 

We  hear  a great  deal  about  the  dignity  and  joyousness 
of  labor,  and  no  doubt  labor  is  dignified  and  joyous  when 
people  are  strong  and  have  leisure.  Perhaps  the  first  four 
or  five  hours  of  work  are  performed  with  a great  deal  of 
pleasure,  but  not  the  twelfth  hour.  I once  tried  to  find 
out  how  a man  felt  after  working  from  six  in  the  morning 
till  nine  and  ten  at  night.  He  told  me  that  after  three  or 
four  weeks  he  did  not  feel  at  all.  He  could  not  remember 
what  he  had  to  eat;  he  could  not  remember  anything 
except  being  aroused  in  the  morning  when  he  was  too 
tired  to  get  up,  and  tumbling  into  bed  at  night.  . . . You 
feel  a sense  of  chagrin,  of  deep  indignation,  when  you  find 
that  the  seventh  day  is  fast  going,  and  people  are  being 
compelled  to  perform  the  same  kind  of  toil  as  on  the 
other  six. 

During  the  four  years  that  I have  had  the  privilege  of 
living  among  the  working-people,  I find  Sunday  is  going 


i58 


SUNDAY  REST. 


very  fast.  There  is  less  difference  between  the  sort  of 
toil  on  that  day  than  four  years  ago.  It  may  be  that  I 
know  more  working-people.  I would  like  to  say  some- 
thing about  many  people  who  have  lost  to  a great  extent 
their  old  faith,  and  have  not  grasped  a new  faith,  who 
still  stand  by  the  day  of  rest  for  the  sake  of  the  welfare 
of  society,  that  strong  feeling  of  brotherhood  that  willingly 
sacrifices  wages  in  order  that  in  the  long  run  the  working- 
people  may  come  out  better.  We  may  call  this  the  reli- 
gion of  humanity.  It  certainly  has  much  the  same  essence 
in  it  which  the  old  religions  have.  I do  not  know  if  I 
have  made  my  point  clear;  but  I would  like  to  impress 
upon  all  of  you,  that  in  order  to  get  the  nobler  life  we 
must  have  leisure  for  it. 


SUNDAY  REST  IN  THE  HOME  AND  FAMILY  LIFE. 

MRS.  /.  H.  KNOWLES . 

INTELLECTUAL,  social,  and  religious  ideals  of 
1 a high  order  are  necessary  to  national  prosperity 
and  stability.  The  germ  of  the  nation  is  in  the  fam- 
ily. In  the  formation  of  such  ideals,  therefore,  the 
family  life  holds  a place  of  first  importance.  The 
true  home  is  so  essential  to  the  best  forms  of  civil 
government,  that  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  any- 
thing worthy  the  name  of  a nation  without  it.  In 
this,  more  than  in  anything  else,  lies  the  difference 
between  barbaric  and  civilized  rule.  The  facts  pre- 
sented in  human  history  furnish  irrefutable  demon- 
stration of  this  statement.  The  comparative  strength 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


159 


of  nationalities  now  existing  gives  additional  proof  ; 
for  where  the  family  in  its  highest  type  is  held  sa- 
cred, there  the  national  bond  shows  firmness  and 
fibre. 

The  character  of  a people  will  always  be  the  same 
in  the  main  as  the  character  of  their  homes.  No 
better  illustration  of  this  has  been  given  to  the 
world  than  in  the  momentous  years  of  our  own  coun- 
try’s history,  from  i860  to  1865.  It  was  from  the 
homes,  both  North  and  South,  that  the  men  truest 
to  conviction  came,  to  die  for  that  which  they  had 
been  early  taught  to  believe  was  the  right. 

It  is  said  that  after  those  terrible  persecutions  in 
Madagascar,  when  humanity  was  thrilled  with  in- 
stances of  noble  martyrdom,  Christians  sprang  up 
in  most  unexpected  places  through  all  the  realm. 
In  family  teaching  and  example  the  principles  of 
their  faith  had  been  so  deeply  implanted  that  no 
storm,  however  fierce,  could  uproot  them.  This  in- 
stitution, wielding  such  influence  in  the  affairs  of 
men,  is  not  of  human  origin.  It  is  God  “who  set- 
teth  the  solitary  in  families,”  and  who,  in  choosing 
the  channel  through  which  the  highest  blessings 
should  flow  to  all  nations,  chose  a man  of  whom  he 
said,  “I  know  Abraham,  that  he  will  command  his 
children  and  his  household  after  him,  and  they  shall 
keep  the  way  of  the  Lord.” 

That  the  family  lies  at  the  basis  of  human  prog- 
ress is  no  more  clearly  demonstrated  than  is  this 
other  essential  truth,  that  family  life  itself  depends 
for  its  integrity  and  perpetuity  upon  eternal  princi- 
ples which  originate  with  God.  I am  now  speaking, 
not  from  the  standpoint  of  any  one  form  of  religious 
belief,  but  from  a broad  and  philosophical  seat  of 


i6o 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


judgment,  to  which  all  human  opinion  may  in  fair- 
ness be  brought.  These  principles  are  clearly  and 
practically  revealed,  not  only  in  the  written  word  of 
God,  but  also  in  the  constitution  of  things.  It  is, 
then,  the  highest  wisdom  to  discover  what  these  prin- 
ciples are.  I believe  that  this  discovery  will  be  suc- 
cessfully made  only  through  the  Bible,  which  is  more 
and  more  proving  itself  to  be^a  book,  not  alone  of 
religious  teaching,  but  of  the  purest  ethics,  adapted 
to  practical  living ; so  much  so  that  sooner  or  later  all 
men  will  come  to  see  that  the  righteousness  which  it 
teaches  “ is  profitable  unto  all  things,  having  the  prom- 
ise of  the  life  that  now  is,  as  well  as  of  that  which  is 
to  come.”  It  foretells  a regenerated  earth.  It  is  like 
taking  a breezy  walk  to  a mountain  summit,  where 
every  nerve  is  invigorated  by  the  high  atmosphere 
and  broadened  outlook,  to  stand  upon  one  of  the 
heights  of  prophecy  and  behold  the  days  that  are 
yet  to  be.  In  this  rarified  air,  above  the  dust  and 
din  of  the  toiling  earth,  we  “ catch  the  sweet,  the 
far-off  song,  that  hails  the  New  Creation.”  “ There 
shall  be  no  more  thence  the  infant  of  days,  nor  an 
old  man  that  hath  not  filled  his  days  ; for  the  child 
shall  die  an  hundred  years  old  ; and  they  shall  build 
houses  and  inhabit  them.  They  shall  not  build  and 
another  inhabit ; they  shall  not  plant  and  another 
eat ; they  shall  not  labor  in  vain,  nor  bring  forth 
for  trouble,  for  they  are  the  seed  of  the  blessed  of 
the  Lord,  and  their  offspring  with  them.”  And  the 
culmination  of  this  promise  is,  “ It  shall  come  to 
pass  that  from  one  Sabbath  to  another  shall  all  flesh 
come  to  worship  before  me,  saith  the  Lord.”  Here 
is  the  realization  of  the  best  hopes  of  the  world,  the 
fulfilment  of  its  loftiest  ideal;,  a calm,  prosperous, 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


161 


happy  age  of  vigorous  health,  long  life,  business  sta- 
bility, family  life,  and  public  worship,  universal  upon 
earth  when  men  “keep  his  Sabbaths  and  take  hold  of 
his  covenant.”  Humanity  is  searching  and  hoping 
ever  for  the  very  state  of  things  the  Ruler  of  All 
intends  shall  be,  while  it  tramples  under  foot,  in  its 
insane  self-will,  the  only  means  of  reaching  it. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  side  by  side  with  the 
institution  of  the  family,  another  foundation  princi- 
ple has  been  laid  from  the  beginning,  viz.,  the  set- 
ting apart  of  one  day  in  seven  as  a time  of  rest  for 
the  highest  good  of  man. 

As  Jachin  and  Boaz  stood  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Temple  at  Jerusalem  by  the  command  of  God,  so 
these  two  pillars,  the  Sabbath  and  the  family,  stand 
also  by  his  command  at  the  threshold  of  human 
history.  The  pillar  at  the  right  of  the  Temple 
entrance  signified  Establishment ; that  at  the  left, 
Stability.  So,  at  the  outer  porch  of  the  Temple  of 
Humanity,  in  which  God  will  show  forth  his  glory 
through  the  ages,  these  two  are  placed  for  perpetuity 
and  strength.  The  casting  down  of  the  beautiful 
pillars  is  especially  mentioned  in  the  destruction  of 
Solomon’s  glorious  work  ; pillars  and  temple  stood 
or  fell  together.  So  will  Humanity  rise  in  beautiful 
proportions,  the  perfect  outcome  of  the  great  De- 
signer’s plan,  only  so  long  as  these  towers  of  strength, 
the  family  and  the  Sabbath,  remain,  'wreathed  with 
chains  of  love  and  lily-work  of  purity,  secure  from 
desecrating  hands. 

Ever  in  the  present  order  of  existence  in  the  divine 
plan,  Sabbath  bells  and  marriage  bells  ring  together, 
and  the  discordant  world  will  never  be  in  tune  if 
it  fails  to  strike  the  keynote  of  this,  dual  harmony. 


SUNDA  V REST. 


162 

No  command  or  plan  of  God  for  human  conduct  is 
purely  arbitrary.  In  the  nature  of  things  we  find 
the  basal  reason  for  all.  His  reason  for  setting 
apart  the  weekly  rest  day  is  “that  it  may  be  well 
with  you  and  with  your  children  forever.” 

It  is  not  difficult  to  show  how  the  one  day  of  rest 
in  seven,  with  its  leisure  and  opportunities  for  men- 
tal, social,  and  spiritual  culture,  is  a necessity  for 
the  perpetuation  of  a true  home-life.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
tells  of  an  English  gentleman  who  was  inspecting  a 
house  with  a view  of  buying  it.  The  landlord  said, 
as  they  stood  by  an  upper  window,  “ You  can  see 
Durham  Castle  from  this  window  on  Sundays.” 
“Why  is  this  ? ” — “ Because  on  Sundays  there  is  no 
smoke  from  the  factory  chimneys.”  Let  the  smoke 
and  toil  of  the  six  days  hang  alike  over  the  seventh, 
and  the  beauty  and  comfort  of  the  home-life  will  be 
out  of  sight  behind  the  cloud.  The  mere  change  of 
every-day  garments  for  the  Sunday  dress  ; the  possi- 
bility of  unsoiled  hands  for  twenty-four  hours  ; the 
rest  to  eye  and  ear  in  the  cessation  of  trade  and  the 
noise  of  machinery  ; the  breaking  in  upon  the  dull 
monotony  of  life, — all  this  and  vastly  more  that  comes 
with  the  opportunity  for  mental  and  spiritual  culture 
afforded  by  the  weekly  rest  day,  is  of  inestimable 
value  even  to  those  who  fail  to  see  that  without 
these  the  home  itself  would  soon  be  laid  in  ruins. 

Since  the  family  is  so  dependent  upon  its  kindred 
institution,  the  Sabbath,  it  becomes  a most  serious 
question,  How  shall  the  home  perpetuate  the  right 
observance  of  the  weekly  day  of  rest  ? It  is  sadly 
true  that  in  many  households  no  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion can  be  found,  because  of  poverty  and  sin.  The 
responsibility,  therefore,  falls  upon  those  whose  con- 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


163 

ditions  by  birth  and  opportunity  are  more  favorable. 
They  must  carefully  consider  the  question,  not  merely 
as  one  of  religious  faith,  but  as  involving  the  great 
social  problems  of  the  day,  among  which  is  the  better- 
ing of  these  homes  less  favored  than  their  own. 

To  influence  our  children  so  that  in  later  years 
they  will  perpetuate  the  Sunday  rest  day,  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  teach  them  : — 

1st.  The  divine  law  of  the  Sabbath.  2d.  Because 
it  is  divine  it  must  be  reverenced.  3d.  That  the 
law  is  beneficent  in  design,  and  was  made  for  all 
ages  and  all  people.  4th.  That  prosperity  and  hap- 
piness are  the  sure  outcome  of  keeping  it ; the  re- 
verse, of  disregarding  it.  5th.  That  the  keeping  of 
it  is  not  a burden,  but  a delight.  6th.  That  the  way 
to  keep  it  is  : 1.  To  make  the  Sabbath  a day  of  rest 

from  ordinary  work.  2.  A day  of  religious  worship. 
3.  A day  of  innocent  social  fellowship.  4.  A day 
for  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  everything  which  tends 
to  the  best  development  of  the  perfect  man  in  spirit, 
mind,  and  body,  regarded  in  their  true  order  of  im- 
portance. How  to  teach  them  thus  is  a question 
worthy  of  careful  study,  with  the  frankest  and  full- 
est treatment  we  can  give  it,  in  the  light  of  religion, 
philanthropy,  and  sociology. 

It  is  a matter  of  first  importance  to  make  the  Sun- 
day “a  delight”  to  the  children,  teaching  them,  not 
that  God  gives  us  six  days  and  keeps  the  seventh  for 
himself,  but  rather  that  he  gives  us  all  the  days, 
and  means  that  the  seventh  shall  be  for  us  the  choi- 
cest of  them  all.  While  we  owe  much  to  the  stern 
conscience  of  our  Pilgrim  fathers,  we  nevertheless 
rejoice  in  a broader  liberty,  through  clearer  light 
upon  God’s  beneficent  will,  than  they  possessed. 


164 


SUNDAY  REST. 


Our  danger  is  that  we  may  use  our  liberty  as  a cloak 
for  sin,  and  not,  as  it  is  intended  to  be,  a garment  of 
royal  prerogative.  The  day  set  apart  for  our  good 
ought  surely  to  be  made  the  best  and  brightest  of 
the  seven.  To  do  this,  it  must  be  planned  for  care- 
fully. The  father’s  business*  and  the  mother’s  house- 
hold work  must  be  so  arranged  as  to  give  time  to  the 
children.  Put  the  house  in  order,  so  that  there  shall 
be  a bright  Sunday-look  about  everything.  Search 
out  through  the  week  some  good  and  entertaining 
books  for  the  older  ones  to  read,  and  picture-books 
for  the  little  ones.  Make  a distinction  between  the 
reading  and  the  plays  (for  children  must  play)  on 
Sundays  and  week-days.  In  a certain  home,  not 
imaginary  but  real,  in  which  the  day  is  truly  a de- 
light, for  each  child  there  is  a special  set  of  Sun- 
day toys,  books,  dolls,  — every  one  a little  brighter 
and  better  than  the  week-day  article.  The  Sunday 
dinner  is  not  a feast  burdensome  to  prepare,  but  it 
always  has  some  pleasant  surprise  in  a favorite  arti- 
cle of  food.  The  hours  round  the  Sunday  evening 
lamp,  with  books,  papers,  and  music,  and  the  big  illus- 
trated Bible  read  and  explained,  will  never  be  forgot- 
ten by  the  members  of  that  household ; for  of  all  the 
memories  which  “ crowd  the  chambers  of  the  brain,” 
none  hold  such  lasting  influence  over  us  as  those 
linked  with  our  childhood.  They  form  the  back- 
ground and  give  character  to  the  life-picture  in  what- 
ever light  we  view  it. 

We  wish  the  hearts  of  parents  might  be  stirred 
with  this  thought,  while  yet  the  golden  hours  are 
within  their  grasp,  before  the  rush  of  time,  so  swift 
and  silent,  sweeps  the  little  children  beyond  their 
reach  in  the  busy  whirl  of  life.  Every  day  is  pre- 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


165 


cious  for  its  wealth  of  influence  in  the  household ; 
but  of  all  the  days,  God’s  blessed  Sabbath  is  the  one 
most  to  be  treasured  amid  the  potent  influences  of 
the  family  circle. 

The  President  of  the  National  Commissioners  of 
the  World’s  Fair,  in  a recent  address,  said  that  he 
believed  it  was  the  power  of  early  training  in  the 
home  which  led  to  the  final  practically  unanimous 
vote  in  that  body  in  favor  of  Sunday  closing  ; not- 
withstanding pressure  in  the  opposite  direction,  and 
the  personal  preferences  of  some,  they  could  not  break 
away  from  that  constraining  force. 

The  memory  of  some  tender  evening  talk  or  hymn 
or  prayer,  may  be  like  the  restraining  touch  of  “ the 
angel  over  the  right  shoulder,”  in  some  hour  of  temp- 
tation to  our  boy ; and  the  remembrance  of  those 
blessed  days  in  her  early  home  will  give  strength  to 
the  daughter’s  heart  when  she  comes  to  meet  the 
deeply  freighted  years  of  the  future. 

The  tides  of  godless  sentiment  bear  down  strongly 
upon  us,  and  they  will  be  harder  still  for  our  chil- 
dren to  resist.  By  all  we  hold  dear,  we  owe  it  to  them 
to  build  within  their  impressible  minds  a bulwark 
against  these  encroaching  forces,  by  good  example, 
by  wise  teaching,  and  by  remembrances  of  this  cho- 
sen day,  woven  like  golden  threads  through  all  the 
cherished  recollections  of  the  home. 

It  is  a peculiarity  of  good  seed  that  careful  plant- 
ing and  assiduous  cultivation  are  indispensable  to  *a 
large  harvest.  Weeds,  briers,  thorns,  grow  vigor- 
ously by  letting  alone.  In  the  spiritual  and  moral 
world  the  same  law  holds.  Truth  must  be  sown  with 
vigilant  hand  and  cultivated  with  unceasing  care, 
else  tares  spring  up  to  despoil  the  wheat.  In  the 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


1 66 

case  of  both  wheat  and  tares,  it  is  true  that  “a  sower 
went  forth  to  sow.”  The  influences  that  dominate 
men  for  good  or  evil  have  their  origin  with  a person- 
ality. “ Behold  I sowed  good  seed  in  my  field. 
Whence  then  hath  it  the  tares  ? ” The  answer  is, 
“An  enemy  hath  done  this.”  The  sowers  of  evil  are 
as  busy  as  the  sowers  of  good,  with  this  advantage, 
that  the  present  conditions  of  the  soil  are  more  fav- 
orable for  the  tares  than  for  the  wheat.  Hence  the 
need  of  more  persistent  sowing  and  vigilant  cultiva- 
tion of  the  good  seed.  What  better  seed  has  ever 
been  sown  in  the  garden  of  this  world  than  God’s 
thought  of  Sabbath  rest  ? It  is  a germ  holding  in 
its  secret  cells  the  promise  of  both  flower  and  fruit, 
— the  flower  of  man’s  happiness,  purity,  and  peace; 
the  fruit,  that  ideal  of  character  which  his  Creator 
intended  he  should  reach.  It  is  the  mission  of  the 
home  to  cast  this  seed  into  the  ground  of  the  child- 
heart,  and  then  to  foster  its  growth  by  every  adjunct 
at  command.  If  it  fails  to  meet  this  responsibility 
in  the  present  emergency,  we  dare  not  forecast  the 
perils  of  the  coming  generation.  The  immediate 
future  of  the  world  promises  to  be  brilliant  in  in- 
vention and  discovery  ; whether  it  will  have  moral 
strength  equal  to  its  material  progress,  is  a question 
for  parents  to  consider.  But  if  the  seed  is  sown, 
while  we  may  not  order  the  process  of  germination, 
we  may  be  sure  the  tiny  blade  will  cut  its  way  through 
the  darkness  out  of  sight,  until  by  and  by,  under  the 
influence  of  the  Great  Sun,  the  full,  ripe  harvest  will 
appear.  Fortunate  is  that  one  who,  looking  back  to 
the  years  of  childhood,  can  recall  in  the  light  of  a 
happy  memory  a scene  like  this  : — 

It  is  Sunday  twilight.  The  evening  star  hangs 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS. 


167 

low  in  the  west ; the  crescent  thread  of  the  new 
moon  rests  against  the  sunset  tints,  and  beyond  the 
sunset  tints,  and  beyond  the  fields  lying  in  shadow, 
circles  the  silver  band  of  the  river.  The  trees  seem 
asleep,  — not  a murmur  stirs  branch  or  leaf.  From 
the  sycamores  in  the  lane  come  the  notes  of  the 
whip-poor-will,  plaintive,  yet  in  accord  with  the  pen- 
sive hush  of  Sabbath  evening.  On  the  porch  of  the 
staid  old  homestead  the  household  is  gathered.  The 
scene  around  them  disposes  more  to  thought  than 
speech  ; but  presently  one  says,  “ Let  us  sing,”  and 
softly  these  words  float  on  the  rhythm  of  Tallis’ 
Evening  Hymn  : — 

“Glory  to  thee,  my  God,  this  night, 

For  all  the  blessings  of  the  light. 

Keep  me,  O keep  me,  King  of  kings, 

Beneath  the  shadow  of  thy  wings. 

Lord,  let  my  soul  forever  share 
The  bliss  of  thy  paternal  care, 

’Tis  heaven  on  earth,  ’tis  heaven  above, 

To  see  thy  face,  and  sing  thy  love.” 

Again  they  sing  in  the  stirring  movement  of 
“ Portland  : ” — 


“The  city  so  holy  and  clean, 

No  sorrow  can  breathe  on  the  air, 
No  gloom  of  affliction  or  sin, 

No  shadow  of  evil  is  there. 

By  faith  we  already  behold 
That  lovely  Jerusalem  here; 

Her  walls  are  of  jasper  and  gold, 
As  crystal  her  buildings  are  clear.” 


To  the  quick  fancy  of  the  child  (from  whose 
memory  this  picture  will  never  fade)  the  sunset 


SUNDAY  REST. 


1 68 

tints  become  the  jasper  and  gold  of  the  City 
Celestial. 

The  holy  day  is  gone,  but  its  precious  influences 
abide  to  bless  and  soften  the  spirit  in  later  years. 
Many  who  joined  in  that  evening  hymn  have  long 
since  entered  the  “ city  so  holy  and  clean  ; ” but  they 
seem  not  far  away,  linked  as  they  are  with  that  Sab- 
bath evening  hour  when  the  glowing  sunset  seemed 
to  be  the  near,  wide-open  gate  of  heaven. 

Thus  may  the  light  shine  from  every  fireside,  like 
that  of  Liberty’s  torch,  giving  warning  and  welcome 
to  the  voyagers  of  all  nations  ; and  may  the  voice  of 
every  home  be  like  the  tones  of  our  new  Liberty 
Bell,  proclaiming  true  freedom  to  all  the  inhabitants 
of  earth. 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


SUNDAY  LAWS.  Wm.  Allen  Butler,  LL.D.,  New  York. 

ADDRESS.  By  Henry  Wade  Rogers,  LL.D.,  President  of  North- 
western University , Evanston,  111. 

SUNDAY  IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE.  Major-General  O.  O. 
Howard,  U.S.A. 

SUNDAY  IN  THE  POSTAL  SERVICE.  Hon.  John  Wana- 
maker,  late  Post??iaster-  General. 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


SHOULD  THE  SUNDAY  REST  BE  MAINTAINED  BY  LEGIS- 
LATION ? THE  GROUND  AND  LIMITATIONS 
OF  SUCH  INTERFERENCE. 

WM.  ALLEN  BUTLER, , LL.D. 

HUMAN  rest  no  less  than  human  labor  is  under 
the  reign  and  compulsion  of  law.  Nature, 
which  imposes  the  necessity  of  toil,  also  by  a man- 
date universal  in  its  extent  and  uniform  in  its  opera- 
tion requires  of  all  men,  savage  or  civilized,  the 
taking  of  rest  in  sleep  during  a part  of  every  day  of 
twenty-four  hours.  The  means  of  bodily  sustenance 
and  nutrition  by  food  and  drink  vary  in  different 
parts  of  the  habitable  earth,  and  the  conditions  of 
human  well-being  in  other  respects  depend  upon 
place  and  circumstance,  but  the  law  of  nightly  rest 
is  everywhere  the  same.  The  number  of  hours  of 
sleep  required  in  childhood  is  greater  than  in  man- 
hood, and  in  manhood  greater  for  some  men  than  for 
other  men  ; but,  taking  these  variations  into  account, 
nearly  one-third  part  of  every  twenty-four  hours  is 
spent  by  the  members  of  the  human  family,  the 
world  over,  in  sleep. 

The  necessity  of  periodical  rest  is  thus  a part  of 
the  constitution  of  the  human  race,  determined,  pri- 


1 72 


SUNDAY  REST. 


marily,  by  the  alternation  of  day  and  night,  and  made 
obligatory  as  a condition  of  the  continuance  of  life 
and  reason. 

All  human  laws  regulating  the  periods  of  labor 
and  of  rest  from  labor  have  their  natural  basis  in  this 
organic  law  of  the  nightly  rest.  The  rule  of  nature 
which  imposes  cessation  from  toil  by  the  recurrence 
of  the  hours  of  darkness,  has  been  supplemented  by 
the  regulations  of  society,  either  customary  or  legal, 
which  prescribe  the  hours  of  labor  during  each  work- 
ing day.  As  labor  is  the  basis  of  the  prosperity 
and  advancement  of  every  organized  community, 
and  work  and  wages  are  the  most  important  ele- 
ments in  the  social  relations  of  its  members,  the 
fixing  of  a definite  period  for  daily  work,  either  by 
mutual  contract  between  employer  and  employee  or 
by  binding  statute,  is  necessary  not  only  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  individual  worker,  to  guard  him  against 
unreasonable  demands,  and  in  the  interest  of  the 
employer  to  secure  steadiness  and  efficiency  in  toil, 
but  also  in  the  interest  of  society,  to  protect  its 
members  from  the  undue  exactions  of  taskmasters, 
to  prevent  overworked  men  and  women  from  becom- 
ing prematurely  a public  charge,  and  to  subserve 
good  morals  by  promoting  regularity  of  life  and 
habits. 

The  regulation  of  the  hours  of  labor  is  necessarily 
arbitrary  and  artificial,  except  so  far  as  natural  con- 
ditions indicate  the  just  division  of  the  periods  of 
work  and  repose.  The  noonday  interval  for  rest  and 
food  is  almost  as  universally  established  by  a dictate 
of  nature  as  is  the  nightly  rest.  This  every  one  will 
attest  who  has  ever  observed  the  alacrity  and  unanim- 
ity with  which  a gang  of  laborers  will  drop  pick  and 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS . 


173 


shovel  at  the  stroke  of  twelve.  The  midday  rest  has 
its  bright  place  in  art  and  literature,  and  in  all  the 
associations  of  honest  toil  in  field  and  farm,  in  coun- 
try and  city.  While  great  divergence  of  opinion  may 
exist  as  to  the  proper  length  of  a working  day,  the 
difference  between  the  maximum  and  minimum  time, 
claimed  by  the  respective  advocates  of  the  longer  or 
shorter  day,  is  not  so  great  as  to  break  in  disastrously 
upon  the  solid  day,  during  which  the  world’s  work 
goes  steadily  forward. 

Longer  or  shorter,  no  one  doubts  the  power  of  the 
State  to  determine  what  the  length  of  the  working 
day  shall  be.  Nature  and  necessity  in  this,  as  in 
many  other  spheres  of  human  activity,  have  compelled 
customary  rules  according  to  existing  conditions ; 
and  these,  in  every  community,  are  gradually  moulded 
into  statutes,  not  so  much  by  the  wisdom  of  legis- 
lators as  by  the  demands  of  society. 

Gradually  mankind  became  habituated  to  the  idea 
of  a weekly  day  of  rest,  an  idea  so  universal  that  it 
has  been  said  that  every  day  in  the  week  is  the  Rest- 
Day  of  some  one  of  the  peoples  of  the  earth.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  the  only  conspicuous  and  controlling 
instance  of  a Weekly  Rest-Day  as  connected  with  a 
system  of  law,  is  found  in  the  theocracy  of  the 
Israelites,  where  it  was  grounded  upon  a divine  com- 
mand, declared  to  be  in  accordance  with  a principle 
entering  into  the  constitution  of  things  as  first  estab- 
lished by  the  will  and  power  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
and  in  its  establishment  as  a rule  of  conduct  made  a 
part  of  the  moral  law  which  has  come  to  be  accepted 
by  civilized  society  as  the  basis  of  social  order. 


174 


SUNDA  V REST. 


REST-DAY  LEGISLATION;  JEWISH  AND  CHRISTIAN. 

The  Weekly  Rest-Day,  as  a social  institution  en- 
forced by  statute,  thus  appears  historically  to  owe 
its  existence  to  a law  which  meets,  as  customary 
laws  do  not,  Blackstone’s  famous  definition  of  law, 
as  the  rule  of  a superior  which  an  inferior  is  bound 
to  obey.  The  law  given  by  Moses  to  the  people  of 
Israel  introduced  the  statutory  observance  of  the 
day  with  the  peculiarity  in  the  enactment,  that  it 
contained  not  only  the  rule  enjoined,  but  also  the 
reason  of  the  rule,  placing  it  upon  a twofold  basis, 
thus  stated  by  Dean  Milman  in  his  History  of  the 
Jews:  “The  double  sanction  on  which  the  observ- 
ance of  the  day  rested,  reminded  every  Israelite  of 
his  God  under  the  twofold  character  of  Creator  and 
Deliverer.  All  creation  should  rest,  because  on  that 
day  the  Creator  rested  ; Israel  more  particularly,  be- 
cause on  that  day  they  rested  from  their  bondage  in 
Egypt.” 

The  law  of  Sabbath  observance  by  religious  rest 
entered  into  the  whole  civil  and  political  life  of  the 
Jewish  people.  Next  to  Monotheism,  which  was 
their  first  distinguishing  characteristic,  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath  was  the  most  marked  feature  of 
their  life  as  a nation,  and  their  repeated  and  fatal 
lapses  into  idolatry  were  accompanied  by  concurrent 
violations  of  the  Sabbath  laws.  After  their  captiv- 
ity and  dispersion  and  the  extinguishment  of  their 
national  existence,  this  institution  survived  ; and  as 
the  restored  temple  at  Jerusalem  under  the  Roman 
rule  attested  the  return  of  the  Jews  to  their  faith  in 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


175 


one  God,  the  observance  of  their  Sabbath,  in  the 
synagogue  worship  and  in  the  rigid  cessation  from 
work,  declared  their  adhesion  to  the  law  of  Moses, 
which  commanded  them  to  “ remember  the  Sabbath 
day  to  keep  it  holy.” 

We  are  not  concerned  with  the  question  of  the 
permanent  obligation  of  the  rule  of  Sabbath  observ- 
ance as  prescribed  by  the  Decalogue,  nor  with  the 
question  when  and  to  what  extent  that  rule  was  ap- 
plied by  the  Christian  Church  to  its  observance  of 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  celebrated  as  the  Lord’s 
day  in  commemoration  of  the  resurrection.  The 
point  of  interest  in  the  present  inquiry  is  as  to  the 
historical  connection  of  the  law  at  any  period  of 
time  with  the  Weekly  Rest-Day,  and  in  respect  to 
this  point  there  is  no  difficulty  or  confusion. 

The  Jewish  Sabbath,  as  a civil  institution,  disap- 
peared with  the  extinction  of  the  Jewish  nation  as 
a political  power;  and  the  Romans,  while  tolerating 
the  religious  customs  of  the  Jews,  borrowed  noth- 
ing from  Jewish  Sabbath  observance.  Constantine, 
whose  coins  during  a part  of  his  reign  bore  on  one 
side  the  name  of  Christ  and  on  the  other  the  image 
of  Apollo,  the  Sun  God,  by  an  imperial  edict  in  the 
year  341  a.d.,  decreed  that  the  “ venerable  day  of 
the  Sun”  should  be  observed  as  a day  of  rest,  in 
respect  to  judicial  proceedings  and  customary  trade, 
with  a special  proviso  that  it  should  not  interfere 
with  agricultural  work.  The  Romans  had  already 
adopted  the  weekly  division  of  time,  probably  from 
the  Egyptian  calendar  ; and  Saturday,  the  festival  of 
Saturn,  on  the  day  corresponding  to  the  Jewish  Sab- 
bath, had  precedence  over  the  other  days  in  popular 
esteem.  The  edict  of  Constantine  had  the  effect  of 


176 


SUNDAY  REST. 


shifting  this  pre-eminence  to  Sunday ; and,  by  a strik- 
ing coincidence,  the  day  consecrated  to  the  pagan 
worship  of  Apollo,  the  first  day  of  the  week,  was 
also  the  day  consecrated  by  the  Christian  Church  to 
the  worship  of  its  Founder,  who  had  declared  him- 
self to  be  the  Light  of  the  world. 

Christianity  was  established  in  the  Roman  Empire 
in  the  reign  of  Theodosius  II.;  and  from  that  time, 
until  the  fall  of  the  Empire,  and  during  the  Middle 
Ages,  Sunday  was  made  the  subject  of  regulation 
both  by  the  ecclesiastical  and  secular  power,  by  de- 
crees of  councils,  edicts  of  popes  and  emperors,  and 
canons  of  the  Church,  or  by  means  of  the  civil  law 
administered  mainly  by  ecclesiastics  ; in  all  cases  the 
underlying  motive  and  principle  of  regulation  being 
the  sacred  character  of  the  day,  while  its  pre-emi- 
nence over  the  other  festivals  or  holy  days  of  the 
Church  gradually  gave  it  prominence  as  a civil  insti- 
tution. 

The  Reformation  made  little  change  in  Sunday  le- 
gislation or  usage  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  where 
the  civil  law  prevails,  and  where,  without  conflict  with 
it,  ecclesiasticism  gives  the  rule  of  observance.  In 
France,  the  spasmodic  effort  of  the  National  Conven- 
tion during  the  Revolution  to  de-christianize  the 
Rest-Day,  by  abolishing  its  weekly  recurrence  and  sub- 
stituting one-tenth  instead  of  one-seventh  of  secular 
time  as  the  stated  period  of  cessation  from  labor, 
stands  as  a typical  memorial  of  the  folly  of  attempt- 
ing to  dislodge  and  destroy  by  legislation  the  settled 
order  of  things  as  established  by  religion,  morals, 
and  custom. 

In  England,  compulsory  Sunday  laws,  originally 
promulgated  and  enforced  by  ecclesiastical  authority. 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


1/7 


gradually  became  a part  of  the  common  law.  The 
Reformation  worked  no  practical  change  in  the  rela- 
tion of  the  State  or  the  people  to  the  customary  Sun- 
day rest,  except  that  as  many  of  the  holidays  of  the 
Romish  calendar  were  abolished,  a stricter  observ- 
ance of  the  Sunday  rest  obtained,  and  was  enforced 
by  Acts  of  Parliament.  In  the  fierce  struggle  for 
religious  liberty  which  led  to  the  downfall  of  Charles 
I.,  the  question  of  the  Sunday  laws  became  a politi- 
cal one.  The  substitution  of  the  word  “ Sabbath  ” 
for  Sunday  was  a distinctive  mark  of  the  Puritan 
party,  whose  ascendency  brought  with  it  legislation 
which  revived  in  express  terms  the  obligations  of  the 
Jewish  Sabbath,  not  only  in  the  spirit,  as  the  stand- 
ard of  Christian  practice,  but  also  in  the  letter,  as 
the  law  of  society. 

The  union  of  Church  and  State  in  England,  and 
the  supremacy  of  Parliament,  exclude  any  question 
as  to  the  power  of  the  Imperial  legislature  to  make 
and  enforce  Sunday  laws.  Acts  of  Parliament  regu- 
late Sunday  observance ; and  while  the  existing  stat- 
utory requirements  in  England  do  not  perpetuate  the 
Sabbatarianism  of  the  Commonwealth,  they  suffi- 
ciently accord  with  the  sentiments  of  the  English 
people  to  secure  the  removal  of  the  Sunday  question 
from  the  sphere  of  politics,  and  to  maintain,  without 
undue  exaction,  the  general  observance  of  the  weekly 
day  of  rest. 

In  America,  the  early  colonial  legislation  on  the 
subject  of  Sunday  substantially  followed  that  of  the 
mother  country.  In  New  England,  the  Sunday  was 
regulated  after  the  pattern  of  the  Commonwealth 
and  on  the  basis  of  the  Sabbatarianism  of  Cromwell’s 
time.  After  the  independence  of  the  States  had 


178 


SUNDA  Y 'REST. 


been  secured  and  the  Federal  Constitution  had  been 
adopted,  the  English  common  law  still  held  its  place 
and  power  as  the  rule  of  society,  except  as  modified 
by  local  statutes  ; and  Sunday,  as  an  institution,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  was  recognized'  by  the  Com- 
mon Law. 

The  absolute  divorce  of  Church  and  State  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  freedom  of  religious  opinion 
and  religious  worship  guaranteed  to  all  citizens  by 
the  Federal  Constitution  and  by  the  State  Consti- 
tutions, brought  our  legislatures  and  courts  face  to 
face  with  the  questions  how  far  the  observance  of 
Sunday  as  a day  of  rest  can  be  compelled  by  munici- 
pal law,  and  whether  the  enactment  and  enforcement 
of  any  Sunday  laws  are  consistent  with  the  consti- 
tutional rights  of  American  citizens,  seeing  that  the 
origin  of  the  day  as  an  institution,  whether  Jewish 
or  Christian,  is  purely  religous,  associated  with  the 
worship  and  doctrines  of  Judaism,  or  of  Christianity, 
or  of  both,  and  wherever  regulated  as  to  its  observ- 
ance by  statute  law,  governed  by  rules  mainly  derived 
frpm  ecclesiastical  canons  and  decrees. 

The  practical  solution  of  these  questions  has  been 
reached  by  dealing  with  the  Day  of  Rest  as  an  ac- 
cepted and  essential  part  of  the  established  order 
of  Christian  civilization,  demanded  by  the  physical, 
moral,  and  social  needs  of  men,  and  requiring  the 
exercise  of  the  power  of  the  State  to  protect  its 
citizens  in  its  enjoyment,  and  to  compel  its  observ- 
ance so  far  as  may  be  necessary  to  that  end,  wholly 
aside  from  any  attempt  to  enforce  its  religious  ob- 
servance. 

The  foregoing  brief  review  will  serve  to  show  that 
while  in  its  origin  and  primary  establishment  the 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


179 


weekly  day  of  rest  was  based  on  religious  obligation, 
and  has  always  had  a sanction  and  rule  of  observance, 
as  sacred  time,  which  enters  into  the  faith  and  prac- 
tice of  Christians  of  all  creeds  and  denominations, 
it  has  also  been  adopted  and  established  not  only  by 
custom,  but  also  by  law,  as  a civil  institution,  not  in- 
dependently of  any  religious  character  or  sacred  as- 
sociation, but  concurrently  with  both  of  these  original 
and  permanent  elements. 

TWOFOLD  BASIS  OF  REST-DAY  LEGISLATION. 

Assuming  that  there  would  have  been  no  Weekly 
Rest-Day  but  for  the  Jewish  Sabbath  or  the  Christian 
Lord’s  Day,  and  no  secular  assignment  of  any  period- 
ical time  of  rest  from  labor  as  a law  of  general  obli- 
gation, it  by  no  means  follows  that  the  adoption  of 
both  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  rule  of  assigning 
one-seventh  of  time  to  rest  from  labor  carries  with 
it  the  obligation  to  perpetuate  either  the  Jewish  or 
Christian  designation  of  the  day,  or  the  Jewish  or 
Christian  rule  of  its  observance.  1 

Legislation,  which  must  concern  itself  with  things 
as  they  are  and  with  society  as  it  exists,  and  whichq 
in  all  free  States,  must  conform  to  the  popular  will, 
takes  note  in  respect  to  the  weekly  day  of  rest  not 
of  its  Jewish  or  its  Christian  consecration,  but  of  its 
existence  as  a constituent  part  of  the  customary  life 
of  civilized  mankind,  accepted  and  upheld  all  the 
more  tenaciously  because  of  the  double  support  it 
derives  from  the  twofold  basis  of  social  requirement 
and  of  religious  obligation. 

This  twofold  basis  in  social  institutions  of  the 
religious  and  the  secular  is  not  peculiar  to  the  case 
of  Sunday.  All  contracts  were  originally  identified 


i8o 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


with  religious  sanctions.  The  researches  of  explo- 
rers in  the  field  of  archaic  law,  correcting  the  earlier 
conclusions  of  Sir  Henry  Maine,  the  foremost  leader 
in  the  study  of  ancient  jurisprudence  in  this  regard, 
show  that  contracts  were  at  first  religious  acts,  and 
that  both  in  the  Roman  and  Greek  law  they  were 
enforced  by  purely  religious  sanctions  before  they 
were  taken  under  the  protection  of  secular  law. 

While  society  has  dispensed  with  the  religious  ele- 
ment in  respect  to  contracts  in  general,  it  retains  it 
in  respect  to  the  marriage  contract,  which  in  the 
larger  part  of  the  Christian  Church  is  still  held  to  be 
a sacrament,  and  according  to  the  customary  order 
of  social  life  it  has  need  of  a continuing  religious 
sanction. 

We  still  retain  the  oath  administered  with  the 
Bible  as  the  medium  of  binding  the  conscience  in 
courts  of  justice,  and  in  the  enlistment  of  soldiers, 
and  in  the  assumption  of  civic  trusts  ; and  while  any 
one  who  chooses  is  free  to  reject  this  method  of  at- 
testing to  the  obligation  to  speak  the  truth  or  to  act 
with  fidelity,  and  to  adopt  such  other  form  as  he  pre- 
fers, so  long  as  his  conscience  is  bound  by  it,  no  one 
can  fairly  question  the  right  of  society  to  uphold  the 
religious  element,  which  thus  enters  into  the  secular 
administration  and  secures  the  ascertainment  of  the 
truth  in  aid  of  justice,  which  is  the  corner-stone  of 
the  whole  social  fabric. 

As  legislation  regulates  marriage  on  its  civil  side 
by  laws  of  dower  and  statutes,  protecting  and  en- 
forcing the  marital  relation  and  the  rights  it  involves, 
without  in  the  least  infringing  upon,  but  directly 
maintaining,  its  religious  side,  and  the  obligation  of 
the  oath  in  civil  affairs ; so  in  respect  to  the  weekly  day 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


1 8 1 


of  rest,  the  law,  while  not  ignoring  the  sacred  char- 
acter belonging  to  the  day  historically,  and  in  the 
religious  faith  and  practice  of  a large  part  of  man- 
kind, finds  a sufficient  basis  for  its  protection  in  the 
general  consent  and  acquiescence  of  the  community 
in  a weekly  rest  for  the  common  benefit,  and  in 
accepted  facts  which  establish  its  necessity. 

REST-DAY  OBSERVANCE  BY  CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENTS. 

In  fact,  so  far  as  English  speaking  people  are  con- 
cerned, and  largely  throughout  all  countries  where 
constitutional  methods  exist,  the  question  of  the 
maintenance  of  the  Sunday  rest  by  legislation  is  not 
an  open  one.  Outside  of  any  distinct  or  separate 
element  of  religious  observance,  but  simply  as  a 
recognized  factor  in  the  general  movement  and  con- 
duct of  affairs,  it  has  become  incorporated  with  all 
the  great  departments  of  government,  — the  Legisla- 
tive, the  Executive  and  the  Judicial. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  custom  or  practice 
elsewhere,  the  Parliament  of  England,  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  Legislatures  of  the 
several  States,  have  uniformly  observed  the  Sunday 
rest.  The  occasional  exceptions  in  which  a legisla- 
tive session  has  trenched  upon  the  hours  of  Sunday, 
under  circumstances  seeming  to  require  such  unu- 
sual action,  only  serve  to  prove  the  rule.  Lord  Mans- 
field said  in  a case  reported  in  1764  (Swann  v. 
Broome,  1 W.  Black,  495),  “ I myself  have  sate  in 
Parliament  on  a Sunday.”  It  appears  by  a note  of 
the  reporter  that  this  was  on  the  occasion  of  the 
sudden  death  of  King  George  II.,  when  both  Houses 
of  Parliament  met  at  two  o’clock  on  Sunday,  October 
26,  1760,  “ pursuant  to  the  Statute  of  Queen  Anne, 


182 


SUNDA  Y REST 


but  the  Lord  Steward  not  appearing  to  administer 
the  oaths,  they  departed  without  proceeding  to  busi- 
ness or  making  any  formal  adjournment/’ 

Parliament  is  restrained  by  no  law,  being  itself  su- 
preme ; but  the  Sunday  rest  is  observed  by  it  accord- 
ing to  the  unwritten  law  of  custom,  and  such  is  the 
practice  of  all  our  legislative  bodies,  National  and 
State. 

In  the  Executive  Department  of  our  National  and 
State  governments,  where  written  constitutions  are 
the  organic  law,  the  Sunday  rest  is  recognized  and 
guarded  by  express  constitutional  provisions,  Sun- 
days being  excepted  from  the  period  after  which  a 
bill,  if  not  returned  by  the  Executive  to  the  Legisla- 
ture, shall  become  a law  without  his  signature. 

The  framers  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  cannot  be  regarded  as  having  had  an  undue 
reverence  for  sacred  things,  or  as  having  framed  the 
provisions  of  the  Constitution  upon  a religious  basis. 
Their  failure  to  insert  in  it  any  recognition  of  a Su- 
preme Being  has  been  the  source  of  much  adverse 
criticism,  and  of  serious  efforts  for  an  amendment  to 
rectify  the  omission  ; they  looked  with  disfavor  on 
Doctor  Franklin’s  earnest  effort  to  provide  for  the 
opening  of  the  daily  sessions  of  the  Convention  with 
prayer,  but  they  adopted,  without  dissent,  the  pro- 
vision contained  in  Section  7 of  Article  I.,  that  “if 
any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  president  within 
ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been 
presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a law,  in  like 
manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress 
by  their  adjournment  prevent  its  return,  in  which 
case  it  shall  not  be  a law.”  This  was  a plain  recog- 
nition, in  the  organic  National  law,  of  Sunday  as  a 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


183 


day  of  rest,  and  with  a very  few  exceptions  the  exist- 
ing Constitutions  of  all  the  forty-four  States  of  the 
Union  contain  the  like  exception  of  Sunday  from 
the  days  allowed  to  the  Executive  for  returning  a 
bill  to  the  Legislature.  This  uniformity  of  Consti- 
tutional recognition  of  Sunday  as  a day  of  rest,  man- 
ifestly has  reference  solely  to  its  customary  observ- 
ance by  the  people  in  general,  and  not  to  the  degree 
of  sacredness  attached  to  it  by  any  of  the  people  in 
particular. 

In  the  Judicial  Department,  alike  in  England  and 
in  the  United  States,  and  largely  throughout  Chris- 
tendom, the  Sunday  rest  is  established.  It  is  a 
maxim  of  jurisprudence  and  of  judicial  administration 
that  Sunday  is  a dies  non  juridicus.  In  the  case  al- 
ready referred  to,  where  the  question  was  whether  a 
valid  judgment  could  be  given  upon  a common  re- 
covery if  the  writ  of  summons  was  returnable  on 
Sunday,  and  the  party  to  be  bound  died  on  that  day, 
Lord  Mansfield  said  that  the  single  question  was, 
“ whether  the  court  can  sit  on  a Sunday  and  give  a 
valid  judgment;”  and  he  says  that  “the  history  of 
the  law  and  usage  as  to  courts  of  justice  sitting  on 
Sundays  makes  an  end  to  the  question.”  After 
stating  that  in  the  early  days  of  Christianity  the  law 
days  included  Sunday,  he  goes  on  to  show  that  the 
non-judicial  character  of  the  day  had  become  a part 
of  the  common  law  of  England.  Doubtless  the 
'common  law  followed  a rule  which  had  its  origin  in 
religious  authority  ; but  it  was  made  a part  of  the 
customary  law  because  it  was  in  accordance  with  the 
general  sentiment  of  the  people. 

Certainly  the  administration  of  justice  by  an  es- 
tablished course  of  procedure  is  the  first  and  most 


SUNDA  Y REST 


184 

important  of  social  functions ; and  if  on  Sunday  the 
courts  of  Christendom  are  closed,  except  for  cases  of 
such  urgency  that  the  interests  of  justice  permit 
of  no  delay,  this  fact  itself  sufficiently  warrants  the 
aid  of  the  law  in  enforcing  its  rest  for  the  general 
good.  A judge  may,  if  he  please,  spend  the  entire 
non-juridical  day  in  considering  the  cases  before  him 
for  decision,  or  in  writing  his  opinions,  but  he  may 
not  do  his  judicial  work  in  court  as  a minister  of  jus- 
tice save  as  emergency  may  require.  If  the  machin- 
ery of  the  law  is  thus  brought  to  a stand-still,  and 
suitors,  witnesses,  court  officers,  and  judges  must 
alike  suspend  their  labor  even  where  the  pending 
issue  may  involve  a question  of  life  or  death,  it  is  fit 
and  proper  that  a like  abstinence  from  secular  labor 
in  less  serious  callings  should  be  enjoined;  in  fact, 
the  judicial  rest  is  only  an  incident  of  the  general 
rest,  and  the  same  basis  which  underlies  the  special 
instance  holds  good  in  general. 

REST-DAY  LEGISLATION  JUSTIFIABLE  AND  NECESSARY. 

But  the  discussion  in  this  general  Congress  of  the 
whole  range  of  subjects  relating  to  Sunday  leads  to 
a field  of  inquiry  which  embraces  the  ground  upon 
which  Sunday  laws  have  been  based,  and  to  the 
question  whether,  irrespective  of  existing  legislation, 
such  laws  can  be  justified  on  principle,  and  at  the 
bar  of  Reason.  In  other  words,  should  legislation 
for  a new,  self-governing  community  include  laws  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  weekly  day  of  rest  ? 

Manifestly,  if  the  experience  of  mankind  has  de- 
monstrated that  a weekly  rest  day  is  a necessity  for 
the  physical,  moral,  or  social  well-being  of  civilized 
communities,  its  compulsory  observance  must  follow, 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


18  5 

and  be  enforced  in  the  exercise  by  the  state  of  its 
power  to  subserve  these  necessary  ends,  leaving 
wholly  out  of  view  the  question  of  the  origin  or  the 
permanent  obligation  of  the  day.  It  is  on  this  basis 
that  all  laws  for  the  compulsory  education  of  chil- 
dren, for  the  sanitary  needs  of  the  community,  for 
the  regulation  of  the  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors, 
and  the  entire  department  of  legislation  which  im- 
poses restraints  and  prescribes  limitations  in  the  use 
of  personal  or  property  rights  depend,  not  because 
the  acts  prohibited  or  regulated  are  criminal  or  are 
in  themselves  wrong,  but  because  experience  has 
shown  that  the  general  good  of  the  community  re- 
quires the  restraint  or  regulation  of  law. 

The  grounds  of  the  maintenance  of  the  weekly 
rest  as  a civil  institution  have  been  often  and  ably 
set  forth.  They  are  stated  and  illustrated  in  a long 
line  of  judicial  decisions  in  many  States,  and  have 
been  made  the  subject  of  treatises,  prize  essays,  ser- 
mons, addresses,  reports  of  societies,  magazine  arti- 
cles, and  other  publications,  constituting  a great  body 
of  modern  literature  on  the  Sunday  question.  The 
supporters  of  Sunday  laws  unite  in  asserting  the 
right  of  the  working  classes  to  the  Weekly  Rest-Day, 
based  on  the  accepted  truth  that  the  rest  it  furnishes 
is  necessary  to  man’s  physical,  mental,  and  social 
well-being:  they  insist  on  the  right  of  worshippers 
to  the  undisturbed  use  of  the  day  for  their  religious 
worship  ; the  admitted  advantages  and  necessity  of 
the  weekly  rest  for  the  promotion  of  good  morals; 
the  equitable  application  of  the  Golden  Rule  by  Sun- 
day laws  which  lighten  the  burdens  of  toilers  by  the 
enforced  co-operation  of  those  for  whom  they  toil; 
the  absolute  right  of  the  government  to  restrain  and 


SUNDA  V REST. 


1 86 

prohibit  on  the  day  of  rest  whatever  is  in  itself  in- 
jurious, demoralizing,  or  a source  of  temptation  to 
evil ; and  on  the  conceded  fact  that,  independently  of 
any  religious  obligation,  society  has  an  interest  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  weekly  rest  so  obvious  and  so 
paramount  that  it  should  be  protected  and  upheld 
by  law. 

Without  repeating  the  arguments  in  support  of 
these  propositions,  it  may  not  be  amiss  briefly  to 
advert  to  the  views  which  are  mainly  urged  in  oppo- 
sition to  them,  and  which  deserve  a fair  and  candid 
consideration. 

I.  Is  the  Weekly  Rest-Day  a physical  necessity  ? 

This  is  a question  of  fact  — debatable  and  much 
debated.  It  has  its  place  in  the  discussions  of  this 
Congress,  and  will  doubtless  be  fully  and  ably  treated 
in  the  papers  which  relate  to  it.  Here  it  is  only  per- 
tinent to  point  out  the  relation  of  the  question  to 
legislation,  not  as  existing,  but  as  we  may  suppose 
it  to  be  in  contemplation,  by  legislators  representing 
the  people  and  called  to  frame  for  them  a code  of 
laws  for  a new  State. 

If  the  weekly  day  of  rest  is  a social  need  on  purely 
physiological  grounds,  the  appeal  of  a French  publi- 
cist, “ Let  us  observe  Sunday  in  the  name  of  hygiene, 
if  not  of  religion,  for  Sunday  is  the  best  friend  of 
the  workingman,”  is  a valid  plea  for  Sunday  legis- 
lation to  secure  the  rest  which  for  the  wage-earner 
cannot  be  had  without  it. 

Against  this  plea  it  has  been  urged  that  there  is 
no  established  physiological  need  of  a weekly  rest. 
The  opponents  of  Sunday  laws  take  issue  on  the  fact, 
and  point  to  the  patriarchs  of  the  Old  Testament,  in 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS . 


18  7 


respect  to  whom  there  is  no  evidence  that  they  ob- 
served a weekly  rest,  or  that  their  longevity  was  in 
any  way  attributable  to  it ; to  the  ancient  Greeks, 
to  whom  the  week  was  unknown,  but  whose  physical 
development  was  of  the  highest  type,  as  exhibited 
by  their  statues,  which  are  the  perpetual  models  of 
manly  strength  and  grace  ; to  the  Romans,  who  con- 
quered the  world  without  a Sunday  rest,  and  never 
observed  it  until  the  period  of  their  decline  and  de- 
cay, and  only  then  under  the  compulsion  of  imperial 
edicts;  to  the  American  Aborigines  and  the  Poly- 
nesians, and  the  Chinese  and  Japanese,  whose  capacity 
for  labor  is  claimed  to  equal,  if  not  exceed,  that  of  the 
workingmen  in  Sunday-observing  countries.  They 
also  point  to  the  thousands  of  persons  in  such  coun- 
tries whose  callings  deprive  them  of  the  Sunday  rest, 
and  who  yet  do  a full  share  of  the  world’s  work,  and 
live  to  a good  old  age  ; and  on  this  basis  it  is  claimed 
that  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  there  is  any- 
thing in  the  laws  of  Nature  or  in  the  constitution  of 
man  which  requires  abstinence  from  work  on  Sun- 
day, or  any  other  day  of  weekly  rest,  as  a condition  of 
physical  well-being;  and,  finally,  it  is  contended  that 
the  assumption  which  has  been  made  in  judicial  opin- 
ions and  decisions  upholding  existing  Sunday  laws, 
that  the  Weekly  Rest-Day  is  an  established  physi- 
cal necessity,  is  without  warrant  in  natural  science 
or  in  vital  statistics,  and  is  in  reality  a judicial  after- 
thought, resorted  to  by  the  courts  in  order  to  main- 
tain a purely  religious  institution  upon  a secular 
basis. 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  question  of  fact  whether 
a weekly  rest  is  so  far  a universal  physical  necessity 
as  to  impose  upon  the  State  the  duty  of  enforcing 


SUNDA  Y*  REST 


188 

it  by  compulsory  laws  has  never  been  tried  out  in 
any  forum,  or  established  by  any  absolute  judgment, 
nor  is  the  question  one  which  is  capable  of  such  a 
solution.  The  inquiry  as  to  how  long  a healthy  man 
could  live  if  deprived  of  sleep  might  be  answered  by 
experts,  and  their  conclusions  demonstrated  by  exper- 
iment ; but  the  question  of  the  amount  of  periodical 
rest,  outside  of  nightly  slumber,  required  by  civilized 
men  in  general,  is  something  as  to  which  a consensus 
of  enlightened  public  opinion,  so  far  as  it  can  be 
reached  by  a consideration  of  the  customary  actions 
and  habits  of  men  and  the  accepted  results  of  ex- 
perience, is  all  that  can  reasonably  be  expected  by 
way  of  a verdict  or  judgment. 

If  American  Indians,  Polynesians,  and  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans  have  lived  and  died  without  a 
weekly  day  of  rest,  and  if  the  Japanese  and  Chinese 
of  to-day  toil  on  with  no  weekly  intermission,  these 
facts  are  competent  proof  that  such  a rest  day  is  not 
one  of  the  universal  requirements  of  human  exist- 
ence under  all  circumstances  ; but  they  are  not  proof 
that,  under  its  existing  conditions,  the  civilized  and 
Christianized  portion  of  the  race  do  not  need  such 
a day  of  rest,  even  if  the  need  involves  the  admission 
of  a lower  standard  of  physical  vigor  than  that  of  the 
aboriginal  savage  or  the  athlete  of  the  Olympian 
games,  and  an  inferiority  in  the  power  of  continuous 
drudgery  to  that  possessed  by  the  Japanese  or  the 
Chinese.  It  may  be  granted  that,  in  its  claim  for  a 
weekly  rest,  the  civilized  world  has  borrowed  from 
Judaism  and  Christianity  an  idea  and  an  institution 
of  which  paganism  gave  no  hint,  and  which,  like 
many  other  beneficent  ideas  and  institutions,  were 
unknown  outside  of  the  Jewish  or  the  Christian 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


189 


Church.  The  world  of  the  ancients  were  strangers 
to  very  many  of  the  simplest  methods  by  which 
humanity  is  aided  to-day  the  world  over  ; and  in  noth- 
ing is  the  wonderful  change  which  has  been  wrought 
more  marked  than  in  those  methods  which  relate  to 
the  care  of  human  life,  the  conservation  of  its  vital 
forces,  and  the  mitigation  of  the  hardships  of  enforced 
toil. 

As  a matter  of  fact,  the  Romans  had  many  inter- 
vals of  rest  from  labor.  It  has  been  said  that  their 
holidays,  like  their  gods,  were  innumerable.  In  the 
course  of  time  the  number  of  days  on  which,  out  of 
reverence  to  the  gods  to  whom  they  were  conse- 
crated, no  trials  could  take  place  at  Rome,  became  a 
resource  by  which  wealthy  criminals  could  stay  pro- 
ceedings indefinitely.  To  correct  this  abuse,  and  to 
increase  the  number  of  working  days,  the  Emperor 
Augustus  revised  and  reduced  the  number  of  holi- 
days. As  to  clergymen,  physicians,  and  other  classes 
of  men  in  modern  society  whose  callings  require 
them  to  work  on  Sundays  as  well  as  week-days, 
there  is  no  more  evidence  that  this  circumstance 
deprives  them  of  rest  on  other  days,  or  during  other 
periods  of  time,  than  there  is  as  to  persons  who  have 
to  work  at  night,  or  as  to  other  persons  who  consci- 
entiously observe  a Rest-Day  other  than  Sunday,  and 
whom  the  law  exempts  from  its  compulsory  rest. 
The  clergyman’s  Monday  rest  is  generally,  and  by 
common  fame,  supposed  to  be  a customary  sequel  and 
set-off  to  his  Sunday  labors.  The  physician’s  self- 
sacrifice  in  the  pursuit  of  his  profession  extends  to 
the  nightly  rest  as  well  as  the  weekly  rest,  and  is 
one  of  the  hardships  of  a calling  which,  when  rightly 
exercised,  commands  admiration  and  homage  for  its 


SUNDAY  REST. 


190 

members,  because  it  requires  them  to  forego  the  rest 
which  for  other  men  is  an  admitted  need. 

The  physical  need  of  the  weekly  rest  may  also  be 
placed  on  a basis  which  takes  it  beyond  the  mere 
laws  or  statistics  of  hygiene  and  physiology.  One 
main  difference  between  Pagan  and  Christian  civili- 
zation is  the  increase  of  that  sympathy  between 
members  of  society  which  we  call  humanity  ; a devel- 
opment, only  too  feeble  and  imperfect  as  yet,  of  that 
idea  of  the  brotherhood  of  man  which  is  a central 
doctrine  of  the  Christian  religion.  It  has  no  more 
serviceable  ally  than  the  weekly  day  of  rest.  If 
wage-earning  men  and  women  the  world  over  were 
without  its  benign  protection,  the  result  would  be  a 
destructive  competition  between  those  of  their  vast 
number  strong  enough  to  work  seven  days  of  every 
week  and  those  too  weak  for  such  continuous  labor, 
and,  as  always  in  such  a struggle,  the  weaker  would 
go  to  the  wall.  This  would  not  be  due  to  the  selfish- 
ness and  greed  of  the  employer,  but  to  the  operation 
of  a natural  law,  beneficent  in  principle,  but  baneful 
in  its  practical  application,  because  turning  the  desire 
to  excel  in  lawful  competition  into  a source  of  injury 
and  ruin  to  others.  Here  the  weekly  rest  interposes 
its  salutary  restraint ; but  if  its  observance  were  left 
to  the  mere  choice  of  employer  and  employee,  with- 
out the  aid  of  positive  law,  or  of  a custom  equally 
binding,  where  would  be  the  protection  of  the  wage- 
earner?  Nature  might  demonstrate  that  work  with- 
out cessation  will  wear  out  the  worker  in  a longer  or 
shorter  time,  according  to  the  ratio  of  his  power 
of  endurance,  but  it  could  not  enforce  the  weekly 
rest  as  it  does  the  nightly  rest  by  any  withdrawal  of 
the  light  of  day  ; science  and  the  results  of  experi- 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


*91 

ence  might  furnish  data  to  prove  that  such  continu- 
ous labor  was  surely  wasteful  and  destructive,  but 
these  would  be  feeble  barriers  against  the  forces  of 
selfish  interest  and  competition.  The  weekly  rest  is 
a necessity,  not  only  against  capital,  so  often  aspersed 
as  the  foe  of  labor,  but  as  against  labor  itself  when 
arrayed  in  opposition  to  justice  and  humanity. 

II.  Is  the  Weekly  Rest-Day  a necessity  in  the 
interest  of  good  morals  and  as  a means  of  social 
benefit  ? 

Here  the  opponents  of  Sunday  legislation  can 
hardly  urge  the  argument  from,  savagery  and  hea- 
thenism in  support  of  the  uselessness  of  the  weekly 
rest.  In  the  domain  of  morals  there  is  no  valid 
claim  of  superiority  in  favor  of  Pagan  over  Christian 
nations.  But  it  has  been  asserted  that  the  weekly 
rest  is  based  upon  a supposed  divine  precept  com- 
manding men  to  be  idle  one  day  out  of  seven,  — a 
precept  continued  in  force  by  Christianity,  and  so 
interwoven  with  the  course  of  legislation  and  judicial 
decision  as  to  set  up  as  a rule  of  society,  habitual 
and  compulsory  idleness  on  the  first  day  of  every 
week.  The  State,  it  is  said,  has  no  right,  without 
constitutional  warrant,  to  enjoin  a religious  observ- 
ance of  the  day  ; and  if,  in  the  exercise  of  its  police 
power,  it  compels  all  men,  without  reference  to  their 
views  as  to  its  sanctity,  to  abstain  from  labor,  it  is 
simply  making  idleness,  which  is  the  parent  of  vice, 
the  duty  of  every  citizen.  This,  it  is  claimed  is  not 
in  aid  of,  but  against,  good  morals.  “ Idleness,” 
says  Dr.  South,  “ offers  up  the  soul  a blank  to  the 
Devil  for  him  to  write  what  he  will  upon  it.”  Shall 
society  conspire  together  in  this  votive  offering  to 
evil  ? 


192 


SUNDA  V REST 


There  has  been  much  vigorous  denunciation  of 
Sunday  legislation  on  the  score  of  its  aiding  and 
abetting  vice  by  putting  a premium  on  indolence,  and 
requiring  men  to  cease  from  honest  toil. 

The  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Cali- 
fornia, in  considering  the  Sunday  law  in  force  in  that 
State  in  1858,  delivered  a trenchant  opinion  against 
its  constitutionality  on  various  grounds,  and  among 
other  things  declared  that  “we  have  heard  in  all 
ages  of  declamations  and  reproaches  against  the  vice 
of  idleness,  but  we  have  yet  to  learn  that  there  has 
ever  been  any  general  complaint  of  any  intemperate, 
vicious,  unhealthy,  or  morbid  industry, ” and  he  held 
that  the  assumption  that  men  work  too  much  and 
thereby  entail  evil  on  society,  and  will  not  without 
compulsion  seek  rest,  is  a new  theory,  contradicted 
by  the  history  of  the  past  and  the  observations  of 
the  present,  and  that  men  would  seek  and  obtain  all 
the  rest  they  require  from  the  natural  influences  of 
self-preservation. 

One  of  his  associates  on  the  bench  concurred  with 
the  chief  justice,  and  the  law  was  declared  void;  the 
remaining  judge  dissented,  and  in  an  able  opinion  re- 
viewed the  grounds  on  which  the  statute  ought,  in 
his  judgment,  to  be  upheld.  “ The  legislature/'  he 
said,  “ had  the  right  to  make  laws  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  health  and  the  promotion  of  good  morals,  and 
so  to  require  periodical  cessation  from  labor,  if  of 
opinion  that  it  would  tend  to  both,”  and  in  reply  to 
the  reasoning  of  the  chief  justice,  that  mankind  will 
seek  all  needed  rest  from  labor  as  a means  of  self- 
preservation,  he  showed  that  all  men  were  not  inde- 
pendent and  at  liberty  to  rest  or  work  as  they  chose, 
but  were  largely  dependent  upon  the  will  and  power 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


193 


of  others  in  this  regard,  and  must  have  the  protection 
of  a compulsory  law. 

The  antagonism  of  judicial  opinion  thus  recorded 
in  the  earlier  annals  of  California,  finds  a strange 
sequel  in  the  fact  that  the  chief  justice  came  to  his 
death  by  being  shot  and  killed  by  a deputy  United 
States  marshal  acting  in  defence  of  the  judge  who 
dissented  from  his  associates  in  the  case  referred  to, 
and  who  is  now  the  senior  justice  in  years  of  service 
and  of  age  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  The  California  decision  itself  was  expressly 
overruled  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  that  State  in 
1861,  and  the  validity  of  the  Sunday  law  established. 
(Ex parte  Andrews,  18  Cal.,  678.) 

The  argument  that  compulsory  Sunday  laws  pro- 
mote vice  instead  of  virtue  by  enforcing  idleness  as 
a social  obligation  has  not,  except  in  the  instance 
above  cited,  and  one  or  two  other  instances,  com- 
mended itself  to  the  judicial  mind,  and  must  fail  of 
acceptance  as  a sound  conclusion;  It  would  hold 
good  equally  against  the  nightly  rest,  compelled  by 
nature,  as  against  the  weekly  rest,  compelled  by  law ; 
for  the  hours  of  darkness  are  the  opportunities  of 
crime,  and  the  perversion  of  the  kindly  provision  of 
nature  for  repose  to  the  base  uses  of  vice  is  a stand- 
ing reproach  of  civilization.  That  the  weekly  rest 
may  and  will  be  similarly  abused,  as  everything 
good  and  beneficial  is  apt  to  be  abused,  is  no  reason 
why  its  benefits  should  be  denied  to  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  who  are  neither  criminals  nor  idlers. 
Nor  is  it  true  that  rest  is  the  synonym  of  idleness 
or  includes  in  its  true  signification  the  pernicious 
element  which  inheres  in  idleness.  Disputants 
whose  minds  are  so  constituted  that  they  are  unable 


194 


SUNDAY  REST 


or  unwilling  to  distinguish  between  the  peaceful  in- 
terval separating  periods  of  wage-earning  labor  which 
the  nightly  rest  is  meant  to  secure  to  the  laboring 
man,  and  the  vacuity  or  viciousness  which  idleness 
involves,  cannot  be  safe  or  wise  guides  in  sociology 
or  morals.  The  idea  of  rest  from  labor  is  to  the 
common  understanding,  experience,  and  appreciation 
of  man,  as  far  removed  from  mere  indolence  and  the 
vices  it  engenders,  as  are  the  peaceful  associations  of 
night  and  sleep  from  midnight  orgies  and  crimes. 
The  pretence  that  the  Sunday  rest,  if  based  on  a 
divine  sanction,  involves  a commandment  to  be  idle, 
which  by  a process  of  judicial  legerdemain  has  been 
incorporated  into  the  civil  law,  hardly  calls  for  seri- 
ous comment.  That  the  law  of  rest  viewed  from  the 
religious,  side  does  not  enjoin  idleness,  but  rather 
the  highest  ideal  of  service,  was  the  precise  point  of 
the  reply  by  which  the  charge  of  Sabbath  breaking 
in  doing  good  was  broken  down  and  refuted,  when 
brought  against  Him  who  declared  Himself  to  be 
“ Lord  even  of  the  Sabbath.” 

The  charge  of  a new  departure  by  American  judges 
in  their  maintenance  of  Sunday  laws,  on  the  ground 
that  as  a civil  institution,  aside  from  its  religious 
character,  the  Sunday  rest  requires  the  protection 
and  enforcement  of  the  law  in  the  physical,  social, 
and  moral  interests  of  society,  may  be  admitted. 
Where  Church  and  State  are  united  there  is  no  need 
of  discriminating  between  the  sacred  and  secular 
character  of  the  day.  But  in  a government  which 
tolerates  no  such  union,  and  guarantees  absolute  free- 
dom of  religious  opinion  and  worship,  such  a discrim- 
ination must  be  made  ; and  the  effort  of  the  courts 
has  been  to  find  a sufficient  warrant  in  physical, 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS.  1 95 

moral,  and  social  needs,  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Sunday  rest. 

“Judicial  after-thoughts”  and  “Judge-made  law” 
are  standing  terms  of  reproach  on  the  part  of  the 
opponents  of  progress  by  means  of  new  advances  in 
the  law  made  by  the  men  who  administer  it.  The 
judicial  after-thoughts  of  Lord  Mansfield  adapted 
the  common  law  of  England  to  the  needs  of  its 
expanding  and  world-encircling  commerce  ; the  judge- 
made  law  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  in  his  interpre- 
tation of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  set 
that  instrument  in  the  clearest  light  of  reason,  and 
gave  a new  sanction  to  its  behests.  Judges  are  often 
able,  in  the  case  of  legislation  which  is  grounded  on 
universal  fact  and  truth,  to  give  it  meaning  and  added 
force  commensurate  with  the  whole  range  of  the 
facts  and  truth  which  relate  to  it. 

On  the  social  side  the  question  of  the  need  of  a 
Weekly  Rest-Day  as  a physical  and  moral  necessity, 
wholly  apart  from  its  religious  character,  and  existing 
as  a civil  institution  adapted  to  the  general  wants  of 
mankind  by  taking  into  secular  use  a day  originally 
observed  only  for  religious  ends,  must  be  determined, 
as  already  seen,  upon  the  broadest  grounds  of  public 
policy.  The  advance  of  science  in  every  department 
affecting  the  physical,  moral,  and  social  conditions 
and  the  evolution  of  morals  through  the  Jewish, 
Pagan,  and  Christian  eras,  are  trying  and  testing 
everything  which  enters  into  the  structure  of  social 
life  and  the  needs  of  the  race  for  its  better  develop- 
ment. If  the  weekly  rest  were  cut  away  from  the 
Church  and  from  religion  would  the  working  world 
part  with  it  ? 

Certainly  the  legislators  who  would  venture  to-day 


196 


SUNDAY  REST. 


to  leave  any  community  without  protecting  for  its 
working  classes  the  rest  day  which  belongs  to  them 
by  prescription  and  use,  would  be  bolder  than  the 
French  Assembly  which,  while  obliterating  the  reli- 
gious Sunday,  retained  the  day  of  rest,  on  the  basis 
of  a changed  ratio  to  secular  time,  admitting  the 
principle  while  varying  its  application. 

The  law  is  a science  which  seeks  to  apply  the  prin- 
ciples of  justice  to  the  affairs  of  men.  It  deals  with 
existing  conditions  of  men  and  things  as  they  are  in 
fact,  not  as  they  might  be  in  theory,  or  even  ought 
to  be  in  an  ethical  view,  and  finds,  if  it  can,  in  the 
unwritten  rules  of  civilized  society  or  in  the  express 
laws  on  the  statute  book,  a basis  of  legislation  which 
shall  subserve  the  highest  needs  of  the  community. 
It  finds  a weekly  day  of  rest  established  and  in- 
trenched in  the  organic  life  of  Christian  civilization. 
It  finds  a recognition  of  its  beneficence  so  universal 
as  to  make  it  matter  of  judicial  cognizance  and  judg- 
ment. It  finds,  that  while  the  legislation  of  centuries 
has  enforced  and  protected  its  observance  as  a day 
of  religious  rest,  with  varying  degrees  of  strictness 
in  the  rule  of  observance,  society  has  claimed  and 
taken  the  benefit  of  the  day  as  a day  of  rest,  inde- 
pendently of  adherence  to  its  religious  character,  for 
the  sake  of  its  physical  rest  and  refreshment  and  its 
moral  and  social  benefit ; and  finding  all  these  ele- 
ments of  necessity  and  advantage,  the  sense  of  jus- 
tice responds  to  the  call  of  humanity,  and  the  rest 
demanded  by  a common  need  is  made  compulsory 
by  law. 

In  order  to  give  point  to  the  objection  against  bas- 
ing Sunday  legislation  on  supposed  secular  needs,  it 
has  been  shown  by  the  opponents  of  Sunday  laws 


POLITICAL  PEL  A TIONS.  1 97 

that  in  the  vernacular  of  the  courts  it  has  been  im- 
possible to  avoid  the  use  of  terms  which  imply  the 
sacred  character  of  the  day  : violation  of  its  rest  is 
characterized  by  learned  judges  as-its  “ desecration,” 
and  its  observance  as  “religious,”  and  the  day  is 
even  defined  by  some  judges,  and  is  designated  in 
some  statutes,  as  the  “ Christian  Sabbath  ; ” all 
which,  it  is  claimed,  clearly  shows  that  the  effort  to 
support  compulsory  rest  on  Sundays,  purely  on  the 
civil  or  social  side,  is  impossible,  and  that,  in  fact,  all 
Sunday  legislation  proceeds  upon  and  perpetuates 
religious  obligation,  and  is,  therefore,  against  that 
freedom  of  religious  opinion  and  that  untrammelled 
right  of  person  and  property  in  conduct  and  life, 
which,  within  the  bounds  of  good  order  and  public 
decency,  all  men  should  be  at  liberty  to  enjoy. 

The  claim  that  Sunday  laws  infringe  the  rights  of 
conscience  or  the  freedom  of  religious  opinion  and 
worship,  has  been  too  often  refuted  and  too  authori- 
tatively overruled  to  require  attention.  The  princi- 
ple which  applies  here,  and  which  is  recognized  by 
our  Republican  constitutional  government,  is  liberty 
of  individual  conscience  and  opinion  as  opposed  to 
any  compulsion  by  law  infringing  upon  the  right 
to  hold  or  exercise  any  form  of  religious  belief  or 
opinion  or  worship.  This  secures  men  against  the 
interference  of  the  State  in  matters  where  their  con- 
sciences or  their  opinions  give  them  the  rule  of 
action,  but  it  does  not  tie  the  hands  of  the  State  so 
as  to  make  it  powerless  to  regulate  the  relations  of 
men  to  each  other  in  matters  which  concern  the  com- 
mon good  of  all.  No  Sunday  law  lays  any  burden  on 
any  man’s  conscience,  or  prescribes  any  form  of  ob- 
servance of  the  day  of  rest.  It  protects  the  day  for 


198 


SUNDAY  REST. 


the  benefit  of  the  community,  just  as  it  protects 
other  property  rights  and  regulates  their  use.  It 
carefully  regards  the  rights  of  those  citizens  who, 
instead  of  observing  the  first  day  of  the  week,  have 
another  day  of  rest ; and  no  citizen  can  truthfully 
claim  that  in  their  practical  operation  he  is  hindered 
in  the  free  exercise  of  any  religious  opinion  or  of 
any  form  of  religious  worship. 

It  is  within  those  proper  limits  which  the  consent 
of  the  governed  marks  out  by  custom  and  usage  and 
a general  acquiescence  that  legislation  in  aid  of  the 
maintenance  of  the  ^ Weekly  Rest-Day  falls  within 
the  range  of  civil  government. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  claim  that  it  is  a Christian 
institution,  and  that  Christianity  is  a part  of  the  law 
of  the  land  and  therefore  the  law  must  enforce  its 
observance ; or  that  it  is  a civil  institution  apart  from 
its  Christian  sanctions,  and  that  therefore  it  is  expe- 
dient to  compel  its  observance.  The  legislator  who  is 
called  upon  to  act  in  regard  to  its  relations  to  society 
must  accept  it  as  it  exists,  as  the  result  of  a complex 
growth  and  organism  which  has  become  so  inter- 
woven with  the  interests  of  society,  and  so  essen- 
tially a part  of  the  habitual  life  of  civilized  mankind, 
as  to  compel  its  maintenance  as  a necessary  provis- 
ion for  a universal  need. 

LIMITATIONS  OF  LEGISLATIVE  INTERFERENCE. 

Assuming  that  the  Sunday  rest  should  be  main- 
tained by  legislation  on  the  grounds  already  indi- 
cated, what  are  the  proper  limitations  of  legislative 
interference  ? 

Manifestly,  if  a weekly  rest  is  to  be  maintained  by 
law,  it  must  be  by  compelling  the  cessation  of  all 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS.  1 99 

ordinary  trade  and  labor,  with  such  exceptions  as 
shall  not  defeat  the  purpose  of  the  law. 

Discrimination  between  what  shall  be  prohibited 
and  what  shall  be  permitted  is  as  difficult  here  as  it 
is  in  many  other  cases  where  conduct  must  be  regu- 
lated by  rule,  whether  the  rule  is  given  by  the  indi- 
vidual conscience,  or  in  the  family,  the  school,  the 
dealings  of  trade,  the  organizations  of  labor,  or  the 
affairs  of  society.  No  standard  can  be  applied  so 
uniform  and  exact  as  to  reach  every  case,  any  more 
than  an  absolute  standard  can  ever  be  set  up  in  the 
domain  of  morals  which  shall  meet  all  the  exigencies 
of  life  and  satisfy  all  moralists  and  casuists. 

But  while  it  is  impossible,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  to  formulate  or  enforce  a law  which  shall  define 
the  meets  and  bounds  of  prescribed  Weekly  Rest,  and 
the  particulars  of  permitted  labor  and  recreation,  it 
is  quite  practicable  to  reduce  the  area  of  the  debata- 
ble ground,  and  to  establish  some  general  rules  suf- 
ficient to  insure  the  maintenance  of  the  rest-day 
itself  in  its  integrity  as  an  institution,  leaving  the 
details  of  regulation  to  that  general  common-sense 
and  accepted  idea  of  justice  which  the  people  are  apt 
to  possess  in  as  large  measure  as  their  lawmakers. 

First.  If  the  Sunday  rest  is  to  be  maintained  by 
legislation,  it  is  obvious  that  the  principal  object  of 
such  legislation  should  be  to  secure  during  its  hours 
the  maximum  of  rest  and  the  minimum  of  labor.  If 
this  plain  principle  embodied  in  the  law  of  compul- 
sory rest  were  at  once  honestly  applied  everywhere 
and  by  everybody,  it  would  furnish,  to  a large  extent, 
a solution  of  all  questions  of  Sunday  observance  ; and 
its  imperfect  application,  notwithstanding  the  very 


200 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


divergent  views  in  regard  to  it,  is  to-day  the  most 
potent  ally  of  the  Sunday  laws. 

Second.  If  the  Sunday  rest  is  to  be  maintained  as 
a part  of  the  administration  of  government,  it  is  also 
obvious  that  the  work  of  government  employees 
must  cease  on  that  day,  as  far  as  consistent  with  the 
needs  of  the  community.  This,  as  already  seen,  is 
the  general  rule  in  all  the  departments  of  the  public 
service. 

Third.  If  the  Weekly  Rest  is  to  be  maintained, 
those  trades  and  callings  which  exist  and  are  carried 
on  only  under  the  license  of  the  law,  are  proper  sub- 
jects of  regulation,  in  such  manner  as  to  secure  the 
main  purposes  of  the  Sunday  rest.  Theatres,  shows, 
games,  and  the  sale  of  intoxicants,  and  everything 
else  which  depends  upon  the  permission  of  the  law, 
are  of  course  subject  to  its  absolute  control ; and  this 
control  should  be  rigidly  exercised. 

Fourth.  To  maintain  the  Weekly  Rest-Day,  busi- 
ness and  work  should  be  prohibited,  except  as  to 
works  of  necessity  and  mercy  to  the  extent  requi- 
site to  make  the  rest  a reality  for  the  great  mass  of 
toiling  men  and  women. 

Fifth . The  maintenance  of  the  Weekly  Rest  by 
law  includes  protection  for  the  undisturbed  exercise 
of  the  freedom  of  religious  worship  for  all  Christian 
churches  and  worshippers. 

These  are  the  main  elements  entering  into  the  ex- 
isting laws  of  England  and  of  the  United  States,  with 
more  or  less  particularity  of  prohibition  and  require- 
ment. The  practical  difficulty  which  is  encountered 
in  regard  to  them  is  not  as  to  the  rule  they  impose, 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS . 


201 


but  as  to  the  exceptions  to  the  rule ; and  it  is  at  this 
precise  point  that  the  problem  of  Weekly  Rest  regu- 
lation becomes  most  intricate  and  most  difficult  of 
solution.  Sunday  laws  as  now  existing,  while  they 
do  not  infringe  on  individual  freedom  of  conscience 
and  liberty  of  opinion  and  worship,  prescribe  regula- 
tions which,  as  they  stand  on  the  statute  book,  per- 
petuate a principle  and  rule  of  observance  which 
public  opinion  to  a large  extent  ignores  and  rejects 
as  “putting  too  much  Sabbath  into  Sunday.”  This 
results  from  the  fact  that  the  statutory  law,  modelled 
on  the  English  Acts  of  Parliament,  has  taken  the 
phraseology  which  belongs  to  the  regulation  of  the 
Weekly  Rest-Day  on  its  religious  rather  than  on 
its  secular  side.  The  exception  of  permitted  labor 
is  expressed  in  the  descriptive  formula  of  “works  of 
necessity  or  mercy,”  pointing  by  the  terms  of  the 
exception  to  the  religious  character  of  the  rest  en- 
joined, and  allowing  no  exception  in  favor  of  anything 
recreative.  Hence  these  laws  are  a dead  letter  as 
to  the  mass  of  the  community,  so  far  as  their  use  and 
enjoyment  of  the  day  are  concerned,  and  the  violation 
of  them  is  not  enforced.  Occasionally,  when  some 
private  advantage  can  be  subserved  by  invoking 
the  penalty  of  prohibition  of  the  law  it  is  pleaded, 
and  the  time  of  judges  and  lawyers  and  jurors  em- 
ployed in  determining  questions  such  as  that  arising 
under  the  Massachusetts  laws,  where,  in  an  action 
against  the  city  of  Boston  for  damages  for  an  injury 
occasioned  by  a defective  highway,  the  defence  was 
that  the  injury  was  incurred  by  the  plaintiff  while 
driving  on  Sunday,  in  violation  of  law,  to  which  the 
plaintiff  replied  that  the  driving  was  a work  of  neces- 
sity on  his  part,  to  visit  an  invalid  sister  ; and  the 


202 


SUNDA  V EEST. 


defendant  then  raised  the  question  whether  the  sister’s 
illness  was  serious  enough  to  warrant  the  brother  in 
claiming  the  benefit  of  the  exception.  As  might  be 
expected,  the  decision  at  all  stages  was  against  the 
city  of  Boston.  Aside  from  such  very  infrequent 
instances,  the  practical  operation  of  the  Sunday  laws 
is  limited  to  securing  the  general  cessation  of  labor, 
leaving  the  question  of  personal  conduct  as  free  as 
on  other  days,  save  as  to  places  of  resort  or  amuse- 
ment, which,  under  the  control  of  the  law,  are  shut 
instead  of  being  open.  It  can  hardly  be  questioned 
that  while  in  theory  this  is  an  unsatisfactory  condi- 
tion of  things  as  to  the  complete  enforcement  of  the 
law,  it  is  the  only  condition  compatible  with  any 
enforcement  of  it  at  all.  It  would  be  impossible  to 
frame,  and  equally  impossible  to  execute,  a law  which 
should  deal  in  detail  with  the  particulars  of  what  is 
permissible  in  the  way  of  work  or  recreation  on  a 
day  of  rest.  The  quiet  and  repose  of  a secluded 
English  hamlet  or  New  England  village  cannot  be 
imposed  on  a metropolis  such  as  London  or  New 
York  or  Chicago;  and  the  regulation  of  private  con- 
duct, within  the  bounds  of  order,  has  never  been  suc- 
cessfully attempted  by  legislation.  This  being  the 
case,  the  question  is,  whether  any  better  way  is  open 
than  that  which  thus  far  has  been  pursued,  by  sub- 
stantially enacting  the  original  law  of  compulsory 
rest,  not  because  of  its  consonance  with  the  religious 
obligation  it  was  primarily  meant  to  enforce,  but  in 
aid  of  the  ascertained  and  recognized  natural  wants 
of  men,  and  their  moral  and  social  welfare,  coupling 
with  the  rule  of  rest  an  exception  which  embraces 
whatever  is  most  beneficial  to  the  individual  and  to 
the  community,  and  leaving  the  whole  range  of  par- 


POLITICAL  PE  LA  TIOHS. 


203 


ticular  conduct  to  the  private  judgment  and  con- 
science of  the  citizen. 

MAIN  OBJECT  OF  REST-DAY  LEGISLATION. 

In  respect  to  all  legislation,  the  main  object  in 
view  must  be  upheld  rather  than  its  minute  applica- 
tion pushed  to  an  unwise  extreme.  Sunday  laws  are 
meant  to  secure  the  cessation  of  labor,  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  day  from  such  interruptions  as  will  pro- 
tect the  enjoyment  of  its  rest,  and  the  prohibition  of 
such  occupations,  amusements,  and  activities  as  are 
deemed  to  be  inconsistent  with  these  objects.  Further 
than  this  they  have  no  proper  place  in  legislation. 
Society,  which  will  tolerate  neither  a repeal  of  its 
existing  Sunday  laws,  nor  their  enforcement  accord- 
ing to  their  letter  or  the  spirit  in  which  they  had 
their  origin,  is  content  with  the  existing  system;  and 
if  it  were  to  be  proposed  for  a new  State,  the  only 
practical  question  would  probably  be,  not  whether 
there  should  be  a rule  of  compulsory  rest,  but 
whether  exceptional  work  or  play  should  be  per- 
missible by  an  administration  of  a strict  law,  or  by 
exceptions  so  broad  as  to  break  in  upon  the  vital 
principle  of  the  rule  and  destroy  it  altogether.  The 
main  support  and  safeguard,  in  any  community,  of 
the  Weekly  Rest-Day,  is  the  moral  support  it  derives 
from  that  class  of  people  with  whom  religious  convic- 
tion is  the  rule  of  life  — a class  without  whose  aid 
no  system  of  government  can  long  contend  against 
pauperism,  vice,  crime,  and  selfish  greed.  That  the 
Christian  Church,  however  divided  as  to  doctrine  or 
form  of  government,  is  united  in  upholding  the  sacred 
character  of  the  day  of  rest  as  commemorating  the 
central  fact  of  Christianity,  whether  the  observance 


204 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


is  of  a festive  or  of  a serious  sort,  is  the  guaranty  of 
its  continuance  and  a main  ground  of  its  universal 
claim  to  support  by  legislation.  Christianity  here 
as  everywhere  strikes  hands  with  every  true  interest 
of  society.  Without  asserting  any  demand  for  the 
acceptance  of  a creed  or  a form  of  worship,  it  has 
demonstrated,  in  the  eyes  of  men  and  in  the  light  of 
experience,  the  humane  and  beneficent  influence  of 
the  Weekly  Rest  as  adapted  to  the  wants  of  man. 
Especially  to  those  who  labor  and  are  heavy  laden, 
the  Weekly  Rest  has  its  invitation  of  cheer  : — 

“ Six  days  may  Rank  divide  the  poor, 

O Dives  ! from  thy  banquet  hall; 

The  Seventh,  the  Father  opes  the  door, 

And  holds  His  feast  for  all ! ” 

And  in  every  department  of  social  activity  the 
unanimity  of  the  Christian  Church  in  aid  of  the 
Weekly  Rest  finds  a ready  response.  The  whole  body 
of  officers  and  employees  in  every  department  of  the 
public  service,  wherever  Sunday  gives  an  interval  of 
rest,  are  always  ready  to  avail  of  the  entire  or  partial 
exemption  from  labor  which  it  affords  ; while  the  great 
army  of  wage-earners  regard  the  Sunday  rest,  without 
thought  of  any  sanction  or  guaranty  by  legislation, 
simply  as  an  established  part  of  their  relations  to 
society.  If  the  general  sentiment  of  the  laboring 
class  was  that  of  hostility  to  the  Sunday  rest,  and  of 
organized  opposition  to  its  compulsory  enforcement, 
or  if  any  body  of  men  combined  against  it  for  the 
purpose  of  advancing  any  real  interest  or  redressing 
any  real  grievance,  such  agitation  would  soon  show 
its  effect  on  the  legislation  which  it  attacked.  Ex- 
perimental laws  in  the  interest  of  supposed  popular 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


205 


rights  are  too  much  in  vogue  to  leave  room  for  any 
apprehension  that  legislation  really  inimical  to  the 
rights  of  working  men  or  working  women  will  be 
long  left  on  the  statute  book.  In  respect  to  the 
Sunday  rest,  as  in  every  department  of  affairs,  the 
power  of  final  decision  must  reside  somewhere  ; and 
with  us,  as  to  every  law,  organic  or  legislative,  the 
people  not  only  have  the  last  word,  but  know  that 
they  have  it. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  sentiment  of  the  present 
day  as  to  the  observance  of  the  weekly  day  of  rest 
is  greatly  changed  from  that  of  half  a century  ago, 
and  that  public  opinion  no  longer  favors  its  compul- 
sory observance.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  a great 
change  has  supervened  in  the  general  current  of 
thought  and  opinion  in  regard  to  this  as  to  many 
other  kindred  subjects.  There  is  a reaction  from  the 
extreme  views  which  were  held  fifty  years  ago  in 
many  departments  of  religious  thought.  Whether 
society  has  gained  or  lost  in  particular  departments 
and  provinces  of  belief  and  practice,  it  is  not  need- 
ful to  inquire.  We  may  lament  as  to  some  of  them, 
that  they  live  no  longer  in  the  faith  of  reason.  But 
the  retrospect  which  confines  its  view  to  the  single 
point  of  a supposed  lapse  in  regard  to  Sunday  observ- 
ance, and  overlooks  or  fails  to  see  the  marks  of 
progress  in  all  directions  in  the  practical  beneficence 
of  Christian  methods  and  the  sure  growth  of  Chris- 
tian morals,  is  superficial  and  imperfect.  Christian 
people  differ  as  to  the  details  of  a due  observance  of 
the  Lord’s  Day,  and  it  is  wholly  impossible  and  im- 
practicable to  compel  acquiescence  in  any  rigid  stand- 
ard of  such  observance. 


20  6 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


SUMMARY  OF  THE  ARGUMENT. 

To  summarize  the  grounds  on  which,  according  to 
the  views  already  expressed,  the  Weekly  Rest-Day 
should  be  maintained  by  legislation  and  the  limita- 
tions of  such  legislation,  the  root  of  the  Weekly  Rest 
as  an  institution  is  found  not  so  much  in  natural  law 
as  in  moral  obligation.  Its  incorporation  into  the 
general  order  of  society  is  a result  of  civilization, 
aided  by  Christianity,  both  combining  to  give  to  its 
support,  as  a secondary  basis,  the  consent  of  the 
communities,  and  establishing  it  as  an  institution 
favorable,  if  not  indispensable,  to  the  physical,  moral, 
and  social  needs  of  mankind.  It  is  therefore  alike 
the  province  and  the  duty  of  the  government  to  main- 
tain it  for  the  public  use  and  enjoyment. 

The  acquiescence  of  communities  in  existing  Sun- 
day laws  is  not  because,  in  the  main,  the  people 
accept  the  doctrine  of  the  perpetual  obligation  of 
the  Sabbath,  on  which  those  laws  are  largely  framed, 
but  because  they  value,  and  mean  to  secure  and  pre- 
serve for  their  own  benefit,  the  Sunday  rest ; and  so 
long  as  they  are  permitted  to  observe  it  as  they 
please,  within  the  bounds  of  good  conduct,  they  are 
unconcerned  as  to  the  statutory  terms  of  prohibition 
or  permission.  Therefore  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom 
to  accept  and  to  retain  the  existing  system  of  Sunday 
legislation  without  relaxing  the  strictness  of  its  pro- 
hibitions, and  without  infringing  on  the  freedom  of 
the  individual  conscience.  The  most  zealous  advo- 
cate of  the  perpetual  obligation  of  the  Sabbath,  while 
justly  charging  all  classes  of  modern  society  with 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


20  7 


dereliction  in  its  observance  according  to  the  stand- 
ard which  he  upholds,  must  admit  that  the  Sunday 
laws  of  England,  and  of  most  of  the  United  States, 
are  stringent  enough  as  they  stand  on  the  statute 
book.  A recent  writer,  who  strongly  supports  the 
literal  observance  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  accord- 
ing to  the  Mosaic  Law,  including  in  his  list  of  pro- 
hibited acts  the  use  of  horse-cars  or  electric  cars 
even  for  church-going  purposes,  and  the  writing  or 
mailing  or  receiving  of  letters,  pays  this  tribute  to 
the  Sunday  legislation  of  the  United  States  : “ Every 
lover  of  good  government  and  good  society  must 
rejoice  that  the  different  States  and  Territories  of 
this  great  Commonwealth  stand  solid,  with  only  three 
exceptions,  for  the  proper  observance  of  the  Lord’s 
Day.”  1 

This  being  the  case,  it  would  seem  that  the  way 
is  open  for  the  education  of  the  public  conscience 
in  regard  to  the  obligations  of  Sunday  observance, 
and  for  all  lawful  efforts  to  promote  increased  rev- 
erence for  it  as  a day  of  religious  rest  and  worship, 
and  increased  appreciation  of  its  inestimable  benefits 
as  a civil  institution.  The  just  and  indisputable  dec- 
laration of  Blackstone  that  the  observance  of  one 
day  in  seven  as  a day  of  rest  “ is  of  admirable  ser- 
vice to  a State,  considered  merely  as  a civil  institu- 
tion,” has  been  applied  and  enforced  in  legislation 
and  jurisprudence  with  a degree  of  unanimity  which 
attests  the  power  of  the  moral  sentiment  which  has 
been  the  source  of  their  inspiration  and  strength. 
Civilization,  as  it  moves  forward  along  all  the  lines 
of  progress  in  advanced  thought  and  the  researches 

1 The  Hallowed  Day.  Fletcher  Prize  Essay.  Rev.  George  Guiry. 
1893.  Pp.  33,  217.  We  believe  there  is  now  but  a single  exception. 


2 o8 


SUNDAY  REST 


of  science,  is  still  as  much  within  the  domain  of 
moral  law  as  of  physical  law,  and  can  no  more  dis- 
sever the  religious  sentiment  of  mankind  from  the 
order  of  society  than  it  can  dethrone  Reason  from  its 
supremacy  among  human  faculties.  The  Weekly 
Rest-Day  properly  has  the  sound  support  of  publi- 
cists, jurists,  and  scientists,  as  a civil  institution  ; 
Sunday  laws  are  properly  made  and  maintained  as 
civil  regulations,  governing  men  as  members  of  soci- 
ety ; obedience  to  such  laws  is  properly  claimed  and 
enforced  by  penal  sanctions  as  a part  of  the  police 
power  of  the  State  ; while  the  underlying  principle 
which  gives  strength  and  stability  to  the  World’s 
Day  of  Rest,  at  once  the  pledge  and  the  guaranty  of 
its  perpetuity  and  its  beneficent  power,  is  the  faith 
of  Humanity  that  is  a gift  of  God. 


ADDRESS  BY  HENRY  WADE  ROGERS,  LL.D. 

The  question  under  discussion  hardly  seems  to  me  to 
be  an  open  one.  The  question  is  no  longer  open  either 
in  the  forum  of  public  opinion,  or  in  that  of  the  courts. 
Who  is  asking  for  the  repeal  of  the  laws  which  have  been 
enacted  in  the  interest  of  Sunday  rest  ? What  State  legis- 
latures are  proposing  to  hold  legislative  sessions  on  Sun- 
day ? Who  among  the  lawyers  and  judges  are  asking 
that  the  courts  may  be  permitted  to  transact  judicial  busi- 
ness on  that  day  ? Are  the  men  who  toil  in  the  mines,  or 
who  work  in  the  factories,  clamoring  to  have  the  Sunday- 
rest  laws  repealed  ? If  they  are,  I am  not  aware  of  the 
fact,  and  the  clamor  of  their  demand  has  not  fallen  upon 
my  ears. 

But  while  the  question  is  not  an  open  one,  the  idea  of 
holding  a Sunday-Rest  Congress  was  wisely  conceived.  We 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


209 


may  reasonably  expect  that  good  will  come  from  a consider- 
ation of  the  arguments  upon  which  this  legislation  rests. 
The  public  sentiment  of  the  country  on  this  question  is 
sound:  to  the  core  ; and  a statement  anew  of  the  reasons 
which  underlie  such  legislation  will  intensify  the  sentiment 
in  favor  of  the  laws,  and  will  eradicate  certain  false  no- 
tions which  even  some  good  people  seem  to  hold  on  this 
subject. 

The  Sunday-rest  laws  are  supposed  by  some  people  to 
violate  in  some  way  the  constitutional  provisions  relating 
to  religious  liberty.  Some  one  in  the  audience  has  handed 
to  the  chairman  a question  asking  whether  this  legislation 
did  not  imply  a union  of  Church  and  State.  As  well 
might  one  inquire  whether  the  opening  of  a legislative 
assembly  with  prayer  meant  a union  of  §tate  and  Church, 
or  whether  the  principles  of  religious  liberty  are  violated 
when  the  President  of  the  United  States  takes  the  oath  of 
office  on  the  Bible,  or  issues  a Thanksgiving  Proclamation 
calling  on  all  the  people  to  give  thanks  to  Almighty  God 
for  the  blessings  which  they  have  received.  The  ideas 
which  some  people  hold  on  this  question  of  religious  lib- 
erty appear  to  be  exceedingly  hazy  and  nebulous.  They 
imagine,  or  profess  to  believe,  — so  sensitive  are  they  on 
this  subject,  — that  any  legislation  which  in  any  way  recog- 
nizes the  existence  of  God,  or  the  cause  of  religion,  tends 
to  a union  of  Church  and  State,  and  violates  the  funda- 
mental law.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  sim- 
ply provides  that  “ Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting 
an  establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exer- 
cise thereof.5'*  The  State  Constitutions  also  contain  pro- 
visions on  the  same  subject.  Now,  these  constitutional 
provisions  mean  : — 

First : That  the  lawmaking  bodies  of  this  country  shall 
never  be  permitted  to  establish  a state  or  national  church. 

Second  : That  they  shall  not  be  permitted  to  extend  to 
any  one  religious  denomination  privileges  which  are  not 
granted  to  every  other. 


210 


SUNDAY  REST. \ 


Third  : That  no  citizen  of  the  republic  shall  ever  be 
required  by  law  to  support  by  taxation  any  religious 
establishment. 

Fourth : That  no  citizen  shall  be  compelled  by  law  to 
attend  religious  services. 

Fifth  : That  every  person  shall  be  permitted  to  worship 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience. 

Such  is  the  meaning  of  these  provisions.  They  do  not 
mean,  and  never  were  intended  to  mean,  that  religion  was 
not  to  be  in  any  way  recognized  or  encouraged  by  law- 
making bodies.  If  such  were  their  meaning,  then  the 
statutes  in  our  several  States  which  exempt  houses  of 
worship  and  religious  corporations  from  taxation  are  un- 
constitutional and  void ; for  they  have  certainly  been 
enacted  for  the  encouragement  of  religion. 

I cannot  help  stopping  here  to  recall  what  was  said  by 
Macaulay  in  the  House  of  Commons,  when  he  said  that 
speaking  merely  as  a politician,  not  as  a churchman,  but 
as  a statesman,  he  was  compelled  to  say  that  any  man 
who  undertook  to  dethrone  the  Christian  religion  was 
guilty  of  high  treason,  not  only  against  the  commonwealth, 
but  against  humanity  and  civilization.  I recall  the  words 
of  Washington’s  Farewell  Address  to  the  American  people, 
in  which  he  declared  that  religion  and  morals  could  never 
be  divorced,  and  that  they  were  essential  not  only  to  the 
happiness  of  mankind,  but  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  State. 

Now,  do  you  suppose  that  the  American  people  in  form- 
ing their  fundamental  law  ever  enacted  and  provided  that 
the  lawmaking  bodies  of  this  country  should  never  be 
permitted  to  enact  legislation  the  tendency  of  which  was 
to  encourage  that  which,  in  the  minds  of  most  of  the  men 
who  sat  in  that  convention  of  1787,  was  essential  not 
merely  to  the  happiness  of  the  people,  but  to  the  per- 
petuity of  the  Republic  ? There  is  not  a court  between 
the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  which  declines  to  day  to  rec- 
ognize the  constitutional  right  of  lawmaking  bodies  to 
declare  that  all  labor  shall  cease  on  Sunday.  The  chair- 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


211 


man  has  referred  to  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
California,  in  which  at  one  time  it  was  decided  that  the 
legislature  of  that  State  had  transcended  its  constitutional 
rights  in  undertaking  to  formulate  such  legislation  ; but, 
as  was  explained  by  the  distinguished  gentleman  from 
New  York,  that  decision  was  subsequently  overruled  ; and 
it  may  be  said  to-day  that  in  every  State  in  the  American 
Union  the  laws  throw  the  aegis  of  their  protection  around 
Sunday,  and  the  courts,  without  exception,  sustain  their 
right  and  their  power  to  do  so. 

I would  like,  if  time  permitted,  to  go  into  the  reasons 
for  this  legislation,  but  there  is  no  necessity  for  it.  The 
reasons  have  been  presented  to  you  by  others.  All  I wish 
to  say  is  to  repeat  what  I stated  when  I began,  that  this 
is  not  an  open  question.  It  is  not  open  in  the  forum  of 
public  opinion  ; it  is  not  open  in  the  courts.  But  God 
save  the  Republic!  and  God  save  humanity!  if  the  time 
should  ever  come  when  the' people  of  this  country  consent 
to  the  repeal  of  these  laws,  enacted  not  only  for  the  en- 
couragement of  religion,  but  for  the  protection  of  the 
individual  against  himself. 


SUNDAY  IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE. 

MAJOR-GENERAL  O.  0.  HOWARD. 

IN  order  to  maintain  the  Sunday  rest  for  its  offi- 
cials and  employees  of  every  grade,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  has  always  from  its 
beginning  enacted  laws  and  formulated  regulations 
of  binding  force,  and  put  them  in  operation  in  every 
department  of  its  administration. 


212 


SUNDAY  REST. 


The  several  States  also,  with  a very  few  excep- 
tions, have  laws  on  their  statute  books  which  have 
more  or  less  protected  and  secured  the  same  observ- 
ance. 

With  a view  to  a brief  inspection  of  such  laws, 
with  the  orders  and  rules  which  have  sprung  from 
them,  so  far  as  the  general  government  is  concerned, 
let  us  take  the  divisions  of  administration  somewhat 
in  detail. 

There  are  three  places  wlyere  Sunday  rest  in  the 
military  service  has  been  made  prominent ; to  wit : — 

FIRST. 

The  Regulations  of  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy, 
where  young  men  are  employed  by  the  government 
to  fit  themselves  for  the  responsibilities  and  duties 
of  army  commissioned  officers. 

CADET  REGULATIONS  REGARDING  OBSERVANCE  OF 
SUNDAY. 

“ 125.  — It  is  earnestly  recommended  to  all  officers  of 
the  Academy,  and  to  all  cadets,  diligently  to  attend  divine 
service  appointed  on  Sunday  at  the  chapel.  Officers  will 
be  excused  by  the  Superintendent  from  such  attendance 
upon  their  declaration  in  writing  that  they  cannot  con- 
scientiously attend.  Cadets  will  in  like  manner  be  ex- 
cused who  make  a similar  declaration,  with  the  written 
approval  of  their  parents  and  guardians,  such  approval 
having  been  obtained  by  application  through  the  Super- 
intendent. But  in  all  such  cases  the  Superintendent  may 
prescribe  such  regulations  as  may  be  deemed  necessary 
and  proper  to  insure  on  the  part  of  those  excused  a decent 
observance  of  the  Lord’s  Day  during  the  hours  of  attend- 
ance at  the  chapel.  Cadets  will  at  all  other  times  during 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


213 


the  day  conform  to  the  study  hours  prescribed  by  the 
Superintendent. 

“ 126.  — Any  cadet  who  shall  behave  indecently  or 
irreverently  while  attending  divine  service,  or  shall  pro- 
fane the  Lord’s  Day,  shall  be  dismissed  the  service,  or 
otherwise  less  severely  punished.” 

SECOND. 

The  Army  Regulations,  intended  for  the  govern- 
ment of  officers,  enlisted  soldiers,  and  employees  : — 

ARMY  REGULATIONS. 

“ Article  52.  — It  is  earnestly  recommended  to  all 
officers  and  soldiers  diligently  to  attend  divine  service. 
Any  officer  who  behaves  indecently  or  irreverently  at  any 
place  of  divine  worship  shall  be  brought  before  a General 
Court  Martial,  there  to  be  publicly  and  severely  repri- 
manded by  the  president  thereof.  Any  soldier  who  so 
offends  shall,  for  his  first  offence,  forfeit  one-sixth  of  a 
dollar ; for  each  further  offence  he  shall  forfeit  a like  sum, 
and  shall  be  confined  twenty-four  hours.  The  money  so 
forfeited  shall  be  deducted  from  his  next  pay,  and  shall 
be  applied,  by  the  captain  or  senior  officer  of  his  troop, 
battery,  or  company,  to  the  use  of  the  sick  soldiers  of  the 
same.” 


THIRD. 

The  various  orders  issued  from  time  to  time  by 
the  President,  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  com- 
manders of  armies  and  geographical  divisions.  These 
three  places,  which  are,  indeed,  the  sources  of  dis- 
cipline, instruction,  and  government,  belong  to  the 
army  proper. 

The  Navy  has  corresponding  regulations  for  its 
cadets  and  for  its  Naval  Establishment  ; for  ex- 
ample : — 


214 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


NAVY  REGULATIONS. 

“ 843.  — Sunday  must  be  observed  on  board  all  vessels 
of  the  Navy,  and  at  all  stations  and  navy-yards,  in.  an 
orderly  manner  by  officers  and  men.  All  labor  or  duty 
will  be  reduced  to  the  measure  of  strict  necessity.  The 
religious  tendencies  of  officers  and  men  are  to  be  encour- 
aged, and  suitable  times  and  places  be  assigned  to  divine 
worship.” 

Without  going  too  much  into  detail,  we  may  call 
up  the  practical  results  which  have  followed  these 
regulations  and  orders. 

At  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  the  sun- 
day  rest  has  always  been  carefully  observed.  The 
Sunday  morning  inspection  was  thought  to  be-  an 
exception  ; but  the  intention  of  that  inspection  was 
to  see  that  each  cadet  was  properly  dressed  and  had 
his  room  and  equipments  in  perfect  order  at  an  early 
hour  of  the  morning.  The  fatigue  of  the  formal 
military  inspection  of  the  battalion  was  relieved 
by  some  appropriate  music  by  the  academic  band. 
The  evening  Sunday  parade  of  the  cadets  simply 
brought  them  together  for  a few  minutes  in  undress 
uniform,  as  a test  of  their  presence  and  good  be- 
havior. Only  the  necessary  guard  and  police  were 
required : a tour  of  this  duty  seldom  returned  to  an 
individual,  on  an  average,  oftener  than  once  in  two 
months. 

In  the  army  at  large , at  all  the  garrisons  through- 
out the  United  States  in  time  of  peace,  the  result  of 
the  law  and  regulations  has  been  to  stop  all  work  in 
the  Quartermaster’s,  Commissary’s,  Medical,  Pay, 
Ordnance,  and  other  departments  which  involved 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS . 


215 


the  labor  of  officers,  enlisted  men,  employees,  or 
contractors,  excepting  always  the  necessary  guard 
and  police  of  the  post. 

With  reference  to  Sunday  morning  inspections 
and  the  evening  parades,  the  same  custom  has  pre- 
vailed in  the  army  as  at  West  Point ; but  both  at 
West  Point  and  in  the  army  at  large,  President 
Benjamin  Harrison  at  last  forbade  the  Sunday  ex- 
ercises, inspections,  parades,  and  drills  ; though  in 
fact  the  drill  could  not  under  the  old  rules  have 
become  customary  : there  were  only  a few  officers 
ever  who  desired  to  make  a Sunday  exhibition  to 
abundant  sight-seers,  crowding  their  garrisons  near 
sundown  for  public  entertainment,  and  who  occa- 
sionally lengthened  their  parades  into  show-drills. 

DIVINE  SERVICE  AND  SUNDAY  OBSERVANCE. 

Again,  at  West  Point  the  cadets  were  always  re- 
quired to  be  present  during  divine  service;  and  it  has 
been,  and  is  to-day,  customary  for  the  four  cadet 
companies  to  march  to  the  chapel  and  attend  the 
morning  worship,  though  a part  have  been  allowed  to 
go  to  church  elsewhere  at  the  request  of  parents  and 
guardians.  The  Saturday  evening  the  cadet  ha- 
bitually took  to  himself  for  friendly  visiting,  writing 
letters  home,  or  reading,  or  for  simple  rest.  Sunday 
evening,  after  call  to  quarters,  a part  of  the  cadets 
had  generally  recommenced  their  studies,  prepara- 
tory to  the  Monday  morning  lesson  ; but  very  many 
took  pains  to  abstain  from  study  on  Sunday  even- 
ings— sometimes  using  recreation  hours  to  forestall 
the  necessity  of  any  study  on  the  rest  day. 

Some  years  ago  the  Board  of  Visitors  to  the 


216 


SUNDAY  REST. 


Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  in  their  report  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  the  students  were  obliged  to  conform  to  re- 
quired hours  of  secular  study  on  Sunday  ; and  they 
added,  “The  judgment  of  the  wisest  physiologists,  as 
well  as  the  moral  and  religious  sense  of  the  country, 
requires  that  Sunday  should  be  a day  of  rest  from 
all  unnecessary  labor.  We  do  not  believe  that  this 
infringement  of  the  rule  finds  compensation  in  the 
additional  progress  made  in  study.”  The  recom- 
mendation of  the  Board  was  disregarded  for  the 
time,  and  the  students  were  virtually  compelled  to 
pursue  their  studies  on  Sunday.  At  length  a law 
was  finally  passed  by  Congress  (Army  Bill,  Section 
21,  July  15,  1870)  which  provided  that  the  Secre- 
taries of  War  and  the  Navy  be,  and  they  are  hereby, 
authorized  and  directed  so  to  arrange  the  course  of 
studies  and  the  order  of  recitations  at  the  military 
and  naval  academies,  that  the  students  in  said  in- 
stitutions will  not  be  required  to  pursue  their  studies 
on  Sunday. 

In  the  army  at  laige  the  habit  of  attending  divine 
service,  recommended  rather  than  enjoined  by  the 
Army  Regulations,  has  varied  among  army  people  as 
in  other  communities  in  our  republic.  At  many  posts 
there  are  regular  services.  I have  noticed  that  the 
Roman  Catholics  have,  as  a general  rule,  been  more 
careful  to  attend  divine  service  than  others,  where- 
ever  from  the  circumstances  that  privilege  could  be 
accorded  them.  The  social  feature  more  or  less 
affects  public  worship  in  the  army.  Enlisted  men 
seldom  gather  largely  with  the  officers  and  their 
families  ; but  an  able  clergyman  at  any  frontier  post 
or  garrison  distant  from  cities  will  usually  draw  to- 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


21/ 


gether  large  numbers.  Near  the  cities  the  privilege 
of  church-going  is  very  little  restricted. 

In  connection  with  the  navy,  my  experience  has 
been  very  limited ; but  I know  that  similar  laws, 
regulations,  and  customs  prevail.  The  government 
affords  to  its  naval  officers  and  men  the  Sunday  rest, 
requiring  only  a small  portion  to  perform  such  func- 
tions as  are  necessary  for  a proper  guard  and  a 
proper  police. 

Before  closing  these 'glimpses  into  the  theory  and 
practice  of  the  army  and  navy,  it  may  be  well  to 
remind  ourselves  that  under  the  operations  of  active 
warfare,  in  our  case  during  the  Civil  War,  necessity 
often  prevented  the  Sunday  rest ; it  was,  however,  a 
soldier’s  proverb,  that  the  attacking  force  on  Sunday 
would  be  defeated.  As  the  war  progressed,  greater 
and  greater  carelessness  had  crept  in,  till  in  the  fall 
of  1862  there  was  a widespread  disregard  of  the 
Lord’s  Day  in  all  the  armies,  — bivouacking,  march- 
ing, or  actively  engaged. 

“THE  PRESIDENT’S  ORDERS.” 

It  was  at  this  time  of  need  that  our  good  presi- 
dent, Abraham  Lincoln,  reminded  us  of  our  his- 
tory, and  of  our  duty  in  relation  to  Sunday  rest,  and 
proper  observance  of  the  day,  by  issuing  the  follow- 
ing general  order  respecting  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  day  in  the  army  and  navy  : — 

Executive  Mansion, 
Washington,  November  15,  1862. 

The  President,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navy,  desires  and  enjoins  the  orderly  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  by  the  officers  and  men  in  the  military  and  naval 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


2 l8 

service.  The  importance  for  man  and  beast  of  the  pre- 
scribed weekly  rest,  the  sacred  rights  of  Christian  soldiers 
and  sailors,  a becoming  deference  to  the  best  sentiment 
of  Christian  people,  and  a due  regard  for  the  Divine  Will, 
demand  that  Sunday  labor  in  the  Army  and  Navy  be  re- 
duced to  the  measure  of  strict  necessity. 

The  discipline  and  character  of  the  national  forces 
should  not  suffer,  nor  the  cause  they  defend  be  imperilled, 
by  the  profanation  of  the  day  or  name  of  the  Most  High. 
“ At  this  time  of  public  distress”  — adopting  the  words 
of  Washington  in  1776  — “ men  may  find  enough  to  do  in 
the  service  of  God  and  their  country  without  abandoning 
themselves  to  vice  and  immorality.”  The  first  general 
order  issued  by  the  Father  of  his  Country  after  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  indicates  the  spirit  in  which  our  in- 
stitutions were  founded,  and  should  be  defended.  The 
General  hopes  and  trusts  that  every  Officer  and 
Man  will  endeavor  to  Live  and  Act  as  becomes  a 
Christian  Soldier  defending  the  Dearest  Rights 
and  Liberties  of  His  Country. 

Abraham  Lincoln. 

Twenty-four  years  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
President  Harrison,  as  we  before  said,  added  another 
important  order  as  follows  : — 

Executive  Mansion, 
June  12,  1889. 

November,  1862,  President  Lincoln  quoted  the  words 
of  Washington  to  sustain  his  own  views,  and  announced 
in  a general  order  that : — 

“The  President,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navy,  desires  and  enjoins  the  orderly  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  bv  the  officers  and  men  in  the  military  and  naval 
service.  The  importance  for  man  and  beast  of  the  pre- 
scribed weekly  rest,  the  sacred  rights  of  Christian  soldiers 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


219 


and  sailors,  a becoming  deference  to  the  best  sentiment  of 
Christian  people,  and  a due  regard  for  the  Divine  Will,  de- 
mand that  Sunday  labor  in  the  Army  and  Navy  be  reduced 
to  the  measure  of  strict  necessity.” 

The  truth  so  concisely  stated  cannot  be  too  faithfully 
regarded,  and  the  pressure  to  ignore  it  is  far  less  now  than 
in  the  midst  of  war.  To  recall  the  kindly  and  considerate 
spirit  of  the  orders  issued  by  these  great  men  in  the  most 
trying  times  of  our  history,  and  to  promote  contentment 
and  efficiency,  the  President  directs  that  Sunday  morning 
inspection  under  arms  will  be  merely  of  dress  and  general 
appearance,  without  arms ; and  the  more  complete  inspec- 
tion under  arms,  with  all  men  present,  as  required  in  par. 
950,  Army  Regulations,  will  take  place  on  Saturday. 

Benjamin  Harrison. 

By  the  President : 

Redfield  Proctor, 

Secretary  of  War. 

THE  GENERAL'S  ORDERS. 

A year  before  Mr.  Lincoln’s  instructions,  General 
George  B.  McClellan,  at  the  time  Commander-in- 
Chief,  issued  two  excellent  orders,  practically  enfor- 
cing the  same  noble  lessons.  The  first  was  as  fol- 
lows : — 

Headquarters  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
Washington,  D.C.,  Septeinber  7,  .1861. 

General  Order  : — 

The  Major  General  commanding  desires  and  requests 
that  in  future  there  may  be  a more  perfect  respect  for  the 
Sabbath  on  the  part  of  his  command.  We  are  fighting  in 
a holy  cause,  and  should  endeavor  to  deserve  the  benign 
favor  of  the  Creator.  Unless  in  case  of  attack  by  the 
enemy,  or  some  other  extreme  military  necessity,  it  is 


220 


SUNDAY  REST. 


commended  to  the  commanding  officers  that  all  work  shall 
be  suspended  on  Sabbath ; that  no  unnecessary  move- 
ments shall  be  made  on  that  day ; that  the  men  shall,  as 
far  as  possible,  be  permitted  to  rest  from  their  labors ; that 
they  shall  attend  divine  service  after  the  customary  morn- 
ing inspection,  and  that  the  officers  and  men  alike  use 
their  influence  to  insure  the  utmost  decorum  required  on 
that  day.  The  General  commanding  regards  this  as  no 
idle  form.  One  day’s  rest  is  necessary  for  man  and  ani- 
mals. More  than  this,  the  observance  of  the  holy  day  of 
the  God  of  mercy  and  of  battles  is  our  sacred  duty. 

George  B.  McClellan, 
Major  General , Commanding . 

Official : 

S.  Williams, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

The  second  is  in  substance  to  wit  : — 

November  27th,  1861. 

“ General  McClellan  issued  orders  from  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  at  Washington,  D.C., 
directing  the  Sunday  morning  services  to  be  commenced 
at  11  o’clock,  and  all  officers  and  soldiers  off  duty  to  at- 
tend divine  service.  The  orders  give  freedom  of  camps, 
quarters,  and  hospitals  to  chaplains,  who  are  also  released 
from  attending  reviews  and  inspections.” 

IN  RESPECT  TO  OTHER  DEPARTMENTS  OF 
ADMINISTRATION. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  correspond  directly  and 
indirectly  with  the  several  departments  at  Washing- 
ton. Another  pen  than  mine  has  sketched  the  facts 
of  Sunday  observance  in  the  immense  Post-Office 
Department , which  extends  its  sway  in  postal  matters 
from  Washington  to  the  extremities  of  the  Republic. 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


221 


As  there  we  find  only  the  necessary  operations,  so  it 
is  in  the  entire  Department  of  the  Interior , which  in- 
cludes the  huge  Pension  Office , the  vast  Patent  Office , 
the  Indian  Bureau , and  other  divisions.  The  doors 
of  their  offices  are  not  only  closed  to  the  public,  but 
substantially  to  all  officials  on  Sunday.  In  the  War 
Department , which  includes  the  Adjutant  General’s, 
the  Judge  Advocate’s,  the  Engineer’s,  the  Ordnance, 
Medical,  Pay,  and  some  other  bureaus,  with  all  their 
subdivisions,  the  Sunday  rest  is  carefully  observed. 
A small  detail  of  messengers  and  watchmen  perform 
the  duties  that  are  essential  to  the  receipt  and  trans- 
mission of  despatches,  and  to  guards. 

The  same  principles,  leaving  every  employee  to 
worship  according  to  his  own  conscience,  are  carried 
out  in  every  department  of  the  government,  both 
military  and  civil.  Nothing  but  an  evident  necessity 
or  a compelling  mercy  puts  constraint  upon  any  offi- 
cial or  workman  whom  the  government  employs.  I 
have  met  with  a few  exceptions  to  this  statement, 
but  these  have  been  so  rare  as  to  make  them  re- 
markable. 

It  is  in  accordance  with  these  principles  that  the 
representatives  of  our  government  at  the  Interna- 
tional Exhibition  at  Paris,  in  1 88 1 and  again  in  1889, 
were  instructed  by  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  State 
in  their  official  capacity,  to  pay  that  respect  to  the 
Sunday  observance  which  is  paid  to  it  by  our  national 
and  state  governments  at  home,  and  which  is  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  customs  and  convictions  of  the 
American  people. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States, 

THROUGH  ITS  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENTS,  THEORETI- 
CALLY AND  PRACTICALLY  PROTECTS  THE  SUNDAY 

Rest. 


222 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


SUNDAY  IN  THE  POSTAL  SERVICE. 

BY  JOHN  WANAMAKER. 

I AM  asked  to  prepare  for  the  Sunday-Rest  Con- 
gress a brief  report  on  “ The  State  as  an  Em- 
ployer in  the  Postal  Department,”  of  course  in  its 
relations  to  the  matter  of  employment  on  Sunday. 
As  Postmaster  General  for  the  four  years  from  1889 
to  1893,  this  subject  was  frequently  presented  to  me 
for  study  and  action,  and  I am  therefore  prepared  to 
briefly  state  what  I know  of  it. 

The  problem  is  one  which  appears  to  be  easy  of 
solution  to  inexperience,  but  which  presented  many 
difficulties  from  the  standpoint  of  a government 
officer  who  is  obliged  impartially  to  execute  the  law 
for  all  sections,  classes,  and  beliefs. 

I first  sought  for  the  facts ; and  in  the  first  year  of 
Mr.  Harrison’s  administration,  I sent  a letter  to  a 
hundred  of  the  largest  post-offices,  with  a view  to  de- 
termine the  relative  importance  of  the  receipt  and 
despatch  of  mails  at  post-offices,  and  the  delivery 
therefrom  to  the  public  on  Sunday,  as  compared 
with  the  same  work  on  the  other  days  of  the  week. 
Questions  were  asked  as  to  the  amount  of  stamps 
sold  on  Sunday,  the  number  of  callers,  the  number 
of  mails  despatched  and  received,  the  number  of 
letter-carrier  collections,  the  amount  of  mail  matter 
collected,  and  the  number  of  employees  on  duty  each 
Sunday,  with  the  hours  of  service.  I also  asked 
these  one  hundred  experienced  postmasters  for  sug- 
gestions as  to  the  means  and  mode  of  reducing  Sun- 
day work  in  post-offices. 


POLITICAL  RELATIONS. 


223 


The  reply  showed  that  the  sales  of  stamps  on  Sun- 
day were  comparatively  insignificant;  that  the  callers 
at  the  post-office  comprised  a very  small  number  of 
the  patrons  ; and  that  the  letter-carrier  work  was 
practically  reduced  to  a minimum,  deliveries  being 
suspended,  and  the  work  confined  to  service  for  an 
hour  or  two  at  the  post-office  waiting  upon  callers. 

Furthermore,  the  consensus  of  opinion  among 
those  one  hundred  men,  many  of  whom  had  man- 
aged large  post-offices  for  years,  seemed  to  be  that 
so  long  as  a railroad  service  is  maintained  on  Sunday 
for  the  carriage  of  the  mails,  there  must  be  kept  up 
a corresponding  local  service  for  the  handling,  care, 
and  protection  of  the  matter  so  carried,  or  else  there 
must  be  a very  general  accumulation  for  the  first 
business  day  of  the  week,  resulting  in  derangement 
and  delay  of  business.  These  briefly  are  the  actual 
facts  and  conditions  which  it  is  necessary  to  confront. 

As  a general  proposition,  it  is  the  rule  of  the  post- 
office  department  to  discourage  Sunday  work  for  men 
notoriously  already  overworked. 

One  of  my  first  acts  as  Postmaster  General  was  to 
sign  an  order  forbidding  the  clerks  and  employees  of 
the  department  at  Washington  from  entering  the 
building  on  Sunday.  There  was  nothing  to  hinder 
the  making  of  such  a regulation.  The  building  is 
entirely  under  the  control  of  the  head  of  the  de- 
partment. 

But  it  is  a much  broader  matter  to  attempt  to  deal 
with  all  the  railroads,  all  the  great  post-offices  in  the 
great  cities,  and  the  sixty-five  thousand  smaller  ones 
in  the  towns  and  villages. 

There  has  been  for  many  years  a standing  regula- 
tion of  the  post-office  department,  which  prescribes 


224 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


the  business  hours  for  post-offices.  It  directs  that 
when  the  mail  arrives  on  Sunday  the  postmaster  will 
keep  his  office  open  for  one  hour  or  more  after  the 
arrival  and  assortment  thereof  (if  the  public  conven- 
ience requires  it)  for  the  delivery  of  the  same  only  ; 
and  if  it  be  received  during  the  time  of  public 
worship,  he  is  directed  to  delay  opening  the  office 
until  services  have  closed.  The  postmaster  need  not 
open  his  office  at  all  on  Sunday  if  no  mail  arrives 
after  the  closing  hour  on  Saturday  and  before  six 
o’clock  Sunday  afternoon. 

Neither  registry  nor  money-order  business  is 
transacted  in  any  post-office  in  the  United  States  on 
Sunday.  Substantially  nothing  is  done  except  the 
work  barely  necessary  to  prevent  a blockade  of  mail 
matter,  otherwise  sure  to  occur,  and  which  would 
paralyze  not  only  commercial  interests,  but  the  busi- 
ness of  the  post-offices  themselves. 

Our  British  cousins,  I believe,  naively  state  in  their 
postal  publications,  that  any  person  may  prevent 
Sunday  delivery  of  his  own  mail  by  addressing  to 
the  postmaster  a written  request  for  the  retention  of 
such  mail  in  the  post-office ; and  in  the  town  districts 
there,  if  the  people  desire  the  discontinuance  of  the 
delivery  of  letters  on  Sunday,  their  application  must 
be  supported  by  the  local  town  authorities,  and  they 
must  furnish  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  people 
are  unanimous,  or  substantially  unanimous,  in  desir- 
ing the  change.  In  the  British  rural  districts,  the 
signatures  of  those  persons  who  receive  two-thirds 
of  the  letters  must  be  obtained  in  order  to  bring 
about  the  discontinuance  of  Sunday  mail. 

I am  informed  by  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Blackwood, 
Secretary  of  the  British  General  Post-Office,  that 


POLITICAL  relations. 


225 


these  regulations  are  the  outcome  of  a Royal  Com- 
mission appointed  to  consider  this  question  in  1871  ; 
that  a select  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 
also  considered  the  question  in  1887,  but  that  no 
material  alteration  in  the  arrangements  resulted. 

In  1890  I gave  public  notice  in  the  Annual  Report 
that  every  citizen  could  stop  Sunday  delivery  of  his 
own  mail  if  he  chose,  and  that  a petition  from  any 
community,  signed  by  a considerable  majority  of  the 
patrons  of  the  post-office,  requesting  the  closing  of 
an  office  on  Sunday,  would  be  regarded  with  favor  by 
the  department,  as  a means  of  ascertaining  by  practi- 
cal experiment  just  what  the  effect  of  Sunday  closing 
would  be. 

The  department's  records  show  that  pursuant  to 
this  publication  some  thirty  requests  were  made  fora 
discontinuance  of  the  Sunday  mail  service. 

The  postal  officer  having  general  charge  of  the 
transportation  of  the  mails  informed  me  recently 
that  as  a rule  there  is  a growing  desire  to  have  Sun- 
day mails  ; so  that  while  there  has  been  a discontinu- 
ance at  thirty  or  more  offices,  there  undoubtedly  has 
been  increased  inquiry  for  daily  exchanges,  especially 
for  the  outgoing  mails  Sunday  evening,  rather  than 
for  an  incoming  mail  Sunday  morning.  His  belief  is 
that  in  nine  out  of  ten  cases  in  towns  where  the  mails 
arrive  Sunday  morning  by  ten  o’clock,  and  leave  not 
earlier  than  five  o’clock  p.m.,  the  patrons  of  the  mail 
service  prefer  to  have  the  Sunday  accommodation. 

In  considering  the  question  of  how  far  the  State 
in  any  department  may  remove  the  compulsion  to 
Sunday  labor,  there  must  always  be  borne  in  mind 
the  important  distinction  between  what  seems  desir- 
able and  good  and  just,  and  what  is  practicable  to  be 


226 


SUNDAY  REST. 


done  by  a public  officer  sworn  to  perform  his  duties 
impartially  to  all  people  and  in  conformity  with  the 
laws  of  the  country  as  they  are  placed  before  him  for 
his  guidance.  The  Postmaster  General  is  the  chief 
postal  officer  of  the  Christian  and  of  the  Jew,  of  the 
Presbyterian  and  of  the  infidel,  if  they  be  citizens  of 
the  United  States.  He  is  also  bound  to  see  that  the 
mails  are  handled  and  carried  with  certainty,  celerity, 
and  security. 

The  utmost  that  seemed  possible  was  to  reduce 
Sunday  labor  to  a minimum.  I have  seen  numerous 
letters  of  remonstrance  from  individuals,  and  resolu- 
tions from  religious  and  humanitarian  organizations, 
urging  entire  cessation  of  the  mail  service  on  Sun- 
day, but  no  one  provided  a fair  way  to  do  it. 

It  takes  but  a moment’s  reflection  to  determine 
how  wholly  impracticable  it  would  be'to  stop  instantly 
at  midnight  of  Saturday  the  machinery  which  it  takes 
over  two  hundred  thousand  people  to  operate,  and  the 
work  of  perhaps  half  that  number  in  service  at  that 
moment,  in  a hundred  thousand  places,  in  city  and 
country  post-offices,  on  railroad  trains  travelling  be- 
tween points  thousands  of  miles  apart,  and  moving 
in  a thousand  directions. 

It  seems,  however,  worthy  of  serious  consideration 
whether  communities  may  not  be  granted  by  act  of 
Congress  the  privilege  of  local  option  as  regards  their 
mail  service  ; since  the  railroad  companies  might  be 
required  to  hold  and  be  responsible  for  the  mails  for 
places  where  by  vote  of  the  people  the  post-office  is 
closed  over  Sunday. 

The  power  for  the  accomplishment  of  such  a meas- 
ure rests  with  the  people,  who  by  their  votes  elect 
members  of  Congress  to  represent  them  in  the 
national  legislature. 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


SUNDAY  OBSERVANCE  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  THE  SPIRIT- 
UAL  LIFE.  Rev.  J.  W.  A.  Stewart,  D.D.,  Pastor  First  Bap- 
tist Church , Rochester,  N.Y. 

THE  PLACE  OF  SUNDAY  OBSERVANCE  IN  CHRISTIANITY: 
I.  James  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Baltimore,  Md. 

II.  Prof.  A.  Spaeth,  D.D.,  Lutheran  Theological  Seminary , 
Mt.  Airy,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

III.  Rev.  W.  W.  Atterbury,  D.D.,  Secretary  New  York  Sab- 
bath Com?nittee. 

THE  SABBATH  IN  JUDAISM.  Rabbi  A.  Felsenthal,  Chi- 
cago, 111. 


' / 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


SUNDAY  OBSERVANCE  IN  ITS  RELATION  TO  THE 
SPIRITUAL  LIFE. 

REV.  /.  W.  A . STEWART , D.D. 

IT  is  not  an  uncommon  experience  for  us,  in  our 
relation  to  an  institution  or  command,  whether 
divine  or  human,  to  pass  through  three  distinct 
stages.  And  this  is  true  of  men,  alike  as  individu- 
als and  as  a society.  At  first  we  yield  unquestion- 
ing obedience ; later  on  we  question  and  rebel : we 
regard  the  command  or  institution  as  a yoke,  and 
we  throw  it  off  and  assert  our  independence.  Then 
lastly  we  learn  better  ; we  reflect ; we  see  farther  into 
things  ; and  we  perceive  that  the  institution  or  com- 
mand is  the  embodiment  of  wisdom,  and  is  designed 
not  to  enslave  but  to  bless  ; that  it  ministers  to  free- 
dom. The  first  stage  corresponds  to  the  period  of 
childhood,  before  either  independence  or  wisdom  has 
come.  The  second  corresponds  to  the  period  of 
youth,  when  freedom  has  arrived  but  wisdom  still 
tarries  at  a distance.  And  the  last  stage  corresponds 
to  the  period  of  manhood,  when  at  length  wisdom  is 
added  to  freedom,  and  when  the  man  willingly  and 
gratefully  observes  what  the  child  blindly  obeyed 
and  the  youth  proudly  scorned.  It  may  be  said  that, 

229 


230 


SUNDA  V REST 


as  to  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath,  the  period  of 
unquestioning  submission  has  passed  away.  Alas  ! 
for  multitudes  we  are  only  in  the  second,  the  radical 
stage,  — the  stage  of  independence  minus  wisdom ; 
that  is,  the  stage  of  license  rather  than  of  liberty, 
in  which  the  one  feeling  is  to  deny  the  claims  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  to  cast  it  off,  so  far  as  it  calls  for 
quiet  and  solemnity.  But  there  are  those  who  have 
reached  the  third  stage,  and  who  perceive  that  of  all 
the  institutions  claiming  our  reverence  and  our  obe- 
dience, the  Sabbath  is  amongst  the  wisest  and  most 
beneficent.  I am  here  to-day,  not  to  assist  in  laying 
a burden  upon  men’s  shoulders,  but  to  add  my  word 
in  the  endeavor  to  make  known  to  a thoroughly  radi- 
cal and  independent  generation  the  blessings  un- 
speakable which  are  bound  up  with  a due  observance 
of  God’s  holy  day. 

Notice  carefully,  if  you  please,  the  limitation  of 
my  subject.  I do  not  propose  to  inquire  into  the 
teaching  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  on  this 
question  of  Sabbath  observance.  Nor  am  I to  say  a 
word  about  State  legislation  with  respect  to  it.  Nor 
does  it  fall  to  me  now  to  speak  of  the  necessity  of 
the  Sabbath  rest  to  all  who  toil.  These  three  phases 
of  the  question  lie  outside  the  province  of  this  paper. 
My  arguments  will  be  based,  not  upon  a positive  di- 
vine command  drawn  from  the  Scriptures,  but  upon 
reason  and  experience  ; and  my  subject  is,  The  Rela- 
tion of  Sunday  Observance  to  the  Spiritual  Life. 
My  aim  will  be  to  show  that  this  relation  is  one  of 
necessity.  I fully  recognize  that  in  limiting  myself 
to  this  phase  of  the  question,  I limit  also  the  number 
of  minds  to  which  I appeal.  This  paper  is  not  ad- 
dressed directly  to  the  unspiritual,  the  utterly  secu- 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


231 


lar  man  ; to  the  man  whose  horizon  is  bounded  by 
time  and  sense,  whose  life  is  filled  up,  satisfactorily 
to  himself,  by  business  and  politics  and  worldly  com- 
forts and  pleasures ; to  the  man,  whoever  he  be, 
whether  vulgar  and  grovelling,  or  intellectual  and 
refined,  to  whom  the  spiritual  life  is  unattractive  and 
unreal,  who  gets  on  without  religion,  who  possesses 
not  faith  or  hope,  and  thinks  himself  none  the  poorer 
for  their  absence,  who,  as  the  Apostle  says,  is  “ with- 
out God  in  the  world,”  the  materialist,  the  practical 
atheist — to  that  man  I do  not  now  speak.  If  the 
aspiration  after  God  and  immortality,  the  life  of  fel- 
lowship with  the  Eternal,  is  to  his  mind  a chimera,  a 
paper  treating  of  a necessity  of  that  life  can  hardly 
be  expected  to  interest  him.  I speak  to  the  spiritual, 
the  devout,  the  godly  ; to  those  who  aspire  to  walk 
with  God,”  to  be  “ the  friends  of  God,”  who  “seek 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,”  who 
“ endure  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible,”  who  “ look 
not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things 
which  are  not  seen.”  After  making  this  one  neces- 
sary distinction  between  the  unspiritual  and  the  spir- 
itual, I draw  no  other  line  ; but  I appeal  to  all,  of 
every  name  and  sect,  in  every  church,  or,  for  reasons 
of  their  own,  outside  all  the  churches,  to  whom  the 
spiritual  life  is  the  one  great  and  blessed  reality,  the 
building  in  relation  to  which  all  else  is  the  scaffold- 
ing, the  kernel  of  which  all  else  is  the  outer  shell. 
Appealing  to  such  minds,  it  may  be  assumed  that 
there  is  such  a thing  as  the  spiritual  life,  consisting  of 
the  knowledge  of  God,  in  communion  with  God,  in 
love  for  God,  in  holy  aspiration.  And  of  course  if 
there  is  such  a life,  then,  like  all  other  life,  it  has  its 
conditions  and  requirements  ; and  my  contention  is 


232 


SUNDA  Y REST 


that  the  religious  observance  of  Sunday  is  essential, 
in  order  that  these  conditions  and  requirements  may 
be  satisfied. 

i.  The  religious  observance  of  Sunday  is  neces- 
sary to  the  spiritual  life,  because  time  is  necessary. 
And  time  is  necessary  because  the  spiritual  life  must 
have  its  proper  nourishment,  and  that  nourishment 
cannot  be  had  without  the  expenditure  of  time;  just 
as  in  the  physical  life,  time  must  be  spent  in  partak- 
ing of  food.  I shall  not  speak  now  of  the  exercises 
of  public  worship,  of  the  nourishment  they  afford, 
or  of  the  time  they  demand.  But  I will  speak  of 
that  spiritual  food  which  the  individual  must  secure 
for  himself  outside  the  public  exercises  of  religion 
if  he  is  to  have  an  intelligent  and  expanding  life  of 
the  soul.  And  this  is  to  be  had  in  reading,  in  medi- 
tation, and  in  communion  with  God.  Before  all  else 
it  is  to  be  had  in  reading  the  Bible  and  in  medita- 
tion upon  it.  Surely  it  does  not  need  to  be  shown 
at  this  late  date  that  the  Bible  is  the  great  store- 
house of  food  for  the  soul.  Knowledge  of  the  Bible 
is  strength ; ignorance  of  the  Bible  is  weakness. 
Prophet  and  psalmist,  evangelist  and  apostle,  are 
our  spiritual  teachers.  The  man  of  God  must  make 
that  book  his  life-long  study  and  companion.  He 
must  know  it  as  a whole  ; he  must  know  especially 
certain  books  of  it,  and  certain  chapters  of  certain 
books  must  be  written  on  his  irfrhost  heart.  Every 
Christian  should  have  a Bible  which  is  thumbed  and 
marked,  and  is  wearing  out  from  constant  usage. 

“ Like  a diamond,  the  Bible  casts  its  lustre  in  every 
direction ; like  a torch,  the  more  it  is  shaken  the 
more  it  shines;  like  a healing  herb,  the  harder  it  is 
pressed  the  sweeter  its  fragrance.”  How  it  nour- 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


233 


ishes  the  soul  to  think  through  and  live  over  the 
thoughts  and  lives  of  this  book!  to  go  forth  with 
Abraham,  and  journey  with  Moses,  and  sing  with 
David,  and  be  exalted  with  Isaiah,  and  be  disciples  of 
Jesus  with  Peter  and  James  and  John,  and  go  through 
the  doctrines  of  redemption  with  Paul ! And  there 
is  not  the  Bible  alone,  but  there  is  the  story  of  the 
church  through  these  eighteen  centuries,  and  there 
is  the  record  of  the  church’s  activity  throughout 
the  world  to-day.  And  there  are  the  “Lives  of 
the  Saints,”  the  biographies  of  men  and  women  of 
God,  so  rich  in  spiritual  inspiration.  And  there  are 
printed  sermons  which  are  like  the  very  voice  of 
God.  And  there  is  all  the  wealth  of  religious  poetry. 
And  there  are  devotional  books,  of  which  I need 
only  name  “The  Imitation  of  Christ.”  Here,  then, 
in  reading,  in  meditation  upon  these,  is  the  food  of 
the  soul.  How  any  child  of  the  Eternal  Father  can 
leave  all  this  food  which  the  Father  has  provided, 
and  prefer  “the  husks  which  the  swine  do  eat,”  in 
the  shape  of  the  profitless  reading  matter  which  is 
often  taken  upon  Sunday,  is  a mystery.  And  of 
course  if  this  spiritual  food  is  to  be  taken  in,  if  this 
reading  and  this  chewing  of  the  cud  of  meditation 
are  to  be  done,  there  must  be  the  expenditure  of 
time.  And,  in  the  way  we  live  to-day,  when  this 
time  is  to  be  had,  if  not  on  Sunday,  I know  not.  Oh, 
the  value  to  the  soul,  who  can  estimate  it,  of  that 
quiet  hour  which  a man  spends  on  Sunday  afternoon 
with  his  Bible,  with  a good  book,  in  holy  meditation  ? 
Because  so  few  hours  are  thus  spent,  therefore 
is  there  such  leanness  of  soul.  Because  so  many 
professed  Christians  grudge  to  God  and  to  spiritual 
things  even  the  hours  of  Sunday,  and  think  it  a sign 


234 


SUNDA  Y REST 


of  their  greater  enlightenment  and  independence  to 
trench  upon  these  hours  with  their  secular  reading 
and  worldly  conversation  and  their  recreations,  there- 
fore is  their  religious  life  dwarfed.  But  to  him  who 
regards  Sunday  as  the  soul’s  opportunity,  how  pre- 
cious its  hours  are  ! 

And  to  glance  in  another  direction  just  for  a 
moment,  how  important  to  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
rising  generation  is  that  hour  of  the  week  when  the 
godly  mother  gathers  her  children  about  her  to  read 
them  a Bible  story,  or  a chapter  from  the  “ Pilgrim’s 
Progress,”  and  to  talk  to  them  as  only  a godly  mother 
can ; or  when  the  godly  father  takes  his  place  as  a 
true  priest  of  God  in  his  own  home.  Thank  God, 
all  such  mothers  and  fathers  did  not  pass  away  with 
the  Puritans ! And  when  can  such  hours  be  had  if 
not  on  Sunday?  And  so  I think  my  first  point  is 
made. 

2.  The  religious  observance  of  Sunday  is  necessary 
to  the  spiritual  life,  because  abstraction  is  necessary , 
— abstraction,  withdrawal  from  secular  concerns. 
And  by  this  I mean  not  simply  the  cessation  of 
bodily  toil,  but  also  the  withdrawal  of  our  thoughts 
from  the  ordinary,  every-day  business  of  life.  If  the 
soul  is  to  prosper,  there  must  be  regular  times  when 
business  and  politics  and  society  and  recreations  and 
purely  intellectual  pursuits,  which  so  much  absorb 
us  six  days  in  the  week,  are  left  behind  and  shut  out, 
in  order  that  the  things  of  God  may  have  a chance. 
Only  on  condition  of  this  abstraction  are  we  capable 
of  viewing  eternal  things  ; only  on  this  condition 
will  God  unveil  himself  to  us.  If  the  eagle  would 
soar  into  the  sky  on  its  mighty  wings,  it  must  first 
withdraw  its  feet  from  the  earth.  When  Nature 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS . 


235 


would  show  us  her  loveliest  scenes,  she  takes  us  far 
from  the  heated  highway,  and  the  crowd  and  bustle 
of  men,  to  the  quiet  valley  and  the  hidden  lake. 
Only  when  “ the  garish  day”  is  gone,  and  the  roar 
of  the  world  is  being  hushed  to  silence,  do  the  starry 
hosts  of  the  heavens  above  us  march  forth  in  their 
pomp  and  majesty,  and  permit  us  to  behold  them. 

And  listen  to  these  words  from  that  master  in 
spiritual  things,  Thomas  a Kempis  : “ Seek  a conven- 
ient time  of  leisure  for  thyself,  and  meditate  often 
upon  God’s  loving  kindness.”  “The  greatest  saints 
avoided  the  society  of  men,  when  they  could  con- 
veniently ; and  did  rather  choose  to  live  to  God 
in  secret.”  “ He  that  intends  to  attain  to  the 
more  inward  and  spiritual  things  of  religion,  must 
with  Jesus  depart  from  the  multitude  and  press  of 
people.”  “In  silence  and  in  stillness  a religious  soul 
advantageth  itself.”  “Whoso,  therefore,  withdraw- 
eth  himself  from  his  acquaintance  and  friends,  God 
will  draw  near  unto  him  with  his  holy  angels.” 
“ Shut  thy  door  upon  thee,  and  call  unto  thee  Jesus, 
thy  beloved.”  “ Stay  with  him  in  thy  closet,  for 
thou  shalt  not  find  so  great  peace  anywhere  else.” 

Need  I remind  you  of  those  frequent  withdrawals 
of  our  Lord  from  the  multitude,  that  he  might  com- 
mune with  the  Father  ? And  the  Christian  soul, 
speaking  out  its  most  instinctive  feelings,  says  : — 

“ Far  from  my  thoughts,  vain  world,  begone ! 

Let  my  religious  hours  alone.” 

In  the  very  nature  of  things  this  abstraction  from 
secular  thoughts  and  secular  affairs  is  essential,  if 
the  spiritual  life  is  to  be  promoted.  Drag  politics 
and  business  and  pleasure  into  the  day  set  apart  for 


236 


SUNDAY  REST 


the  things  of  God,  and  the  things  of  God  will  take 
their  departure  from  it.  Always  let  your  thoughts, 
by  some  means,  be  dragged  down  and  tied  down  to 
earth,  and  they  will  never  rise  to  heaven.  Have  no 
sacred  hours  and  sacred  days  in  your  life,  and  there 
will  be  nothing  sacred  in  your  life ; it  will  be  wholly 
secularized,  materialized,  “ of  the  earth  earthy.” 

The  blessings  of  home  and  of  family  life  can  only 
be  known  on  condition  of  a certain  seclusion  and 
withdrawal  from  the  gaze  and  rush  of  the  world 
without.  This  is  more  emphatically  true  of  the  re- 
ligious life.  Six  days  in  the  week  tell  me  that  I 
belong  to  nature,  to  the  material  creation,  to  time 
and  sense  ; that  I have  a stomach  to  be  filled  and  a 
back  to  be  clothed  ; that  I have  much  in  common 
with  the  animals  beneath  me.  One  day  in  the  week 
tells  me  I have  a soul,  that  I am  free,  that  I be- 
long to  an  eternal  order,  that  I am  a child  of  God. 
In  the  name  of  all  that  is  sacred,  let  six  days  suffice 
to  ding  it  continually  in  my  ears  that  I belong  to 
sense  and  to  time ; let  there  be  one  day  in  which  the 
“ still,  small  voice”  may  be  heard,  which  whispers 
that  I belong  to  eternity  and  to  God.  The  spiritual 
man  does  not  stop  to  ask  whether  the  Sunday  news- 
paper is  a sin  ; he  instinctively  says  it  is  an  imperti- 
nence. After  he  has  given  six  days  of  thought  and 
toil  to  temporal  things,  it  comes  and  does  its  best  to 
drown  that  voice  which  tells  him  of  his  higher  des- 
tiny ; it  comes  to  pre-empt  his  thoughts  and  his 
hours,  and  to  drive  away  prayer  and  the  Bible  and 
holy  meditation.  I say  to  the  spiritual  man,  it 
is  an  impertinence.  That  the  Sunday  newspaper 
can  find  its  way  into  so  many  houses  of  church-mem- 
bers is  no  sign  of  greater  independence,  but  rather 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


237 


of  less  spirituality,  of  a growing  inability  to  rise  and 
soar  with  delight  amid  the  things  of  God.  Church- 
members  will  take  their  Sunday  newspapers,  and 
will  tell  you  that  they  do  not  consider  themselves 
tied  down  by  the  Sabbatarian  notions  of  the  Jews 
and  the  Puritans.  Precisely.  The  period  of  inde- 
pendence has  come  to  them,  but  wisdom  still  tarries 
afar.  Perhaps  the  time  may  come  when  they  will 
have  advanced  a little  farther,  when  wisdom  will  be 
joined  to  independence,  and  when  they,  without  be- 
coming one  bit  Judaic  or  Puritanic,  in  the  full  spirit- 
ual freedom  which  Christ  has  proclaimed,  will  at 
length  perceive  that  after  all  it  is  worth  while  to 
keep  one  day  sacred  for  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  and 
for  the  Bible,  and  for  holy  thoughts,  and  for  the 
greater  concerns  of  a being  who  thinks  himself  im- 
mortal. Meanwhile,  the  taking  and  the  reading  of  a 
Sunday  newspaper  is  a confession  that  in  mind  and 
heart  there  is  a vacuum  — a vacuum  which  ought  to 
be  filled  with  higher  things,  but  which,  not  being  so 
filled,  invites  the  Sunday  newspaper  to  dump  its 
contents  into  it.  Yes,  the  religious  observance  of 
Sunday  is  essential  to  the  spiritual  life,  because  with- 
drawal from  the  world,  rest,  stillness,  the  turning  of 
the  thoughts  into  other  channels,  is  essential  ; and 
it  seems  as  if  Sunday  was  made  by  a good  and  wise 
God  for  just  such  a purpose.  That  Old  Testament 
picture  of  the  godly  man  is  still  significant : “ If  thou 
turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  Sabbath,  from  doing  thy 
pleasure  on  my  holy  day,  and  call  the  Sabbath  a de- 
light, and  the  holy  of  the  Lord  honorable  ; and  shalt 
honor  it,  not  doing  thine  own  ways,  nor  finding  thine 
own  pleasure,  nor  speaking  thine  own  words ; then 
shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord.” 


238 


SUNDAY  REST. 


Indeed,  if  there  were  no  Sabbath  existing  as  a 
divine  institution,  the  spiritual  life  would  have  to 
ordain  one  for  itself,  so  essential  is  it.  And  it  would 
be  quite  impossible  to  tell  the  value,  the  blessedness, 
of  this  day  to  the  devout  soul,  standing  as  it  does,  a 
witness  for  God,  telling  us  every  week  of  our  spirit- 
ual destiny,  reminding  us  of  our  risen  Saviour,  and 
of  our  union  with  the  faithful  of  all  ages,  bringing 
with  it  a thousand  hallowed  associations,  and  being 
a foretaste  of  eternal  glory. 

3.  The  religious  observance  of  Sunday  is  neces- 
sary to  the  spiritual  life,  because  in  this  stage  of  our 
existence  external  props  and  guards  and  helps  are 
necessary.  This  is  the  first  stage  of  our  spiritual 
history.  Here,  all  the  way  through,  the  animal  and 
the  spiritual  are  side  by  side.  The  problem  is  the 
enfranchisement  of  our  spiritual  nature,  the  victory 
of  soul  over  sense.  The  spiritual  life  just  gets  a start 
here  ; it  just  begins  to  grow;  it  is  feeble,  and  sense 
is  strong.  It  is  not  able  yet  to  depend  on  its  own 
strength  and  sturdiness.  Like  a young  plant  lately 
set  out,  it  needs  protection  from  frosts  and  storms. 
Like  a young  tree,  it  needs  support.  Like  a child 
taking  its  first  steps,  it  wants  something  to  hold  on 
by.  In  the  future  state  all  this  may  be  different. 
There  the  spiritual  life  shall  have  attained  its  full 
development  and  its  true  place.  No  longer  shall  it 
contend  with  the  world  and  the  flesh.  Everything 
shall  be  subordinate  to  it,  in  harmony  with  it.  Re- 
deemed saints  will  live  it  by  freely  and  constantly 
acting  out  themselves.  And  so  external  helps  and 
reminders  will  be  unnecessary.  In  a sense  the  Sal- 
vation Army  song  is  true  : — 


“ Every  day  will  be  Sunday  by  and  by.” 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


239 


But  we  have  not  reached  that  stage  yet  ; and  our 
best  life,  if  left  to  itself  here,  must  soon  be  choked 
and  overwhelmed  by  the  multiplicity  and  the  per- 
sistence of  secular  concerns.  And  so  we  need  ever- 
recurring  reminders  ; we  need  times  and  places  and 
institutions  which  speak  for  God,  which  command 
the  world  to  silence,  and  summon  us  to  holy  thoughts 
and  aspirations. 

“Lord  with  what  care  hast  thou  begirt  us  round! 

Parents  first  season  us;  then  schoolmasters 
Deliver  us  to  laws;  they  send  us  bound 

To  rules  of  reason.  Holy  messengers; 

Pulpits  and  Sundays;  sorrows  dogging  sin; 

Afflictions  sorted;  anguish  of  all  sizes;  — 

Fine  nets  and  stratagems  to  catch  us  in  ! 

Bibles  laid  open;  millions  of  surprises; 

Blessings  beforehand;  ties  of  gratefulness; 

The  sound  of  glory  ringing  in  our  ears; 

Without,  our  shame;  within,  our  consciences; 

Angels  and  grace;  eternal  hopes  and  fears ! ” 


Yes,  and  we  need  them  all  ; and  never  were  they 
more  needed  than  to-day.  It  would  seem  to  me 
almost  an  axiom  that  the  greater  our  advance  in 
secular  life,  in  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  in  the 
production  of  physical  comforts,  in  the  mastery  of 
nature  for  man’s  service,  in  the  complexity  and  mag- 
nitude of  commercial  enterprise,  — the  greater  also 
is  the  necessity  for  preserving  more  and  more  sacredly 
those  institutions  which  bring  it  home  to  us  that  “a 
man’s  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the 
things  which  he  possesseth.”  And  of  these  institu- 
tions none  is  more  beneficent,  none  is  a better  re- 
minder, none  is  a truer  prop  and  help  to  the  spiritual' 
life,  than  Sunday  religiously  observed 


240 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  SUNDAY  OBSERVANCE  IN 
CHRISTIANITY. 


I 


JAMES  CARDINAL  GIBBONS . 

HE  custom  of  observing  religious  holidays  has 


1 prevailed,  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times, 
among  nations  practising  a false  system  of  worship, 
as  well  as  among  those  professing  the  true  religion. 
They  have  set  apart  one  day  in  the  week,  or  at  least 
certain  days  in  the  month  or  year,  for  the  public  and 
solemn  worship  of  their  creator,  just  as  they  have 
instituted  national  festivals  to  commemorate  some 
signal  civic  blessing  obtained  by  their  heroes  and 
statesmen. 

The  Mohammedans  devote  Friday  to  public  prayer 
and  special  almsgiving,  because  that  day  is  appointed 
by  the  Koran.  The  Parsees  of  Persia  and  India  have 
four  holidays  each  month  consecrated  to  religious 
worship. 

The  Hebrew  people  were  commanded  by  Almighty 
God  to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  Day,  or  Saturday,  be- 
cause on  that  day  God  rested  from  his  work.  (Exod. 
xx.  8.)  He  wished  to  remind  them  by  this  weekly 
celebration,  that  he  was  their  Creator  and  Master, 
and  the  Founder  of  the  universe.  He  desired  that 
they  should  be  moved  to  worship  him  by  the  con- 
templation of  his  works,  and  thus  rise  from  nature 
to  nature’s  God. 

The  Sabbath  was  marked  also  by  a beneficent 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS . 


24I 


character,  which  admirably  displays  God’s  tender 
mercy  toward  his  creatures,  and  appeals  with  touch- 
ing pathos  to  the  compassion  of  the  Hebrew  master 
in  behalf  of  his  servant  and  beast  of  burden.  “ The 
seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God. 
Thou  shalt  not  do  any  work  therein,  thou,  nor  thy 
. . . bondman  and  bondwoman  . . . nor  any  of  thy 
beasts,  nor  the  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates.  . . . 
Remember  that  thou  wert  also  a slave  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  the  Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out  from 
thence  with  a strong  hand  and  a stretched-out  arm.” 
(Deut.  v.  14,  15.) 

The  prophet  Isaiah  attaches  abundant  blessings  to 
the  due  observance  of  the  day:  “The  children  of 
the  stranger  that  adhere  to  the  Lord  to  worship 
him,  and  to  love  his  name,  to  be  his  servants ; 
every  one  that  keepeth  the  Sabbath  from  profaning 
it,  and  that  holdeth  fast  my  covenant,  I will  bring 
them  into  my  holy  mount,  and  will  make  them  joyful 
in  my  house  of  prayer ; their  holocausts  and  their 
victims  shall  please  me  upon  my  altar.  For  my 
house  shall  be  called  the  house  of  prayer  for  all 
nations,  (lvi.) 

The  prophet  Ezekiel  declares  the  profanation  of 
the  Sabbath  foremost  among  the  national  sins  of  the 
Jews,  and  the  chief  cause  of  their  national  calamities. 
“I  lifted  up  my  hand  upon  them  in  the  wilderness, 
to  disperse  them  among  the  nations,  and  to  scatter 
them  through  the  countries  ; because  they  had  not 
done  my  judgments,  and  had  cast  off  my  statutes, 
and  had  violated  my  Sabbaths. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  Grotius  and  of  other  learned 
commentators,  that  the  Sabbath  was  held  sacred  for 
generations  prior  to  the  time  of  Moses ; and  its  ob- 


242 


SUN  DA  Y REST. 


servance,  according  to  Lightfoot  and  other  writers, 
dates  even  from  the  creation,  or  at  least  from  the 
Fall  of  Adam.  Hence  they  maintain  that  the  Jew- 
ish lawgiver,  in  preserving  -the  Sabbath,  was  not 
enacting  a new  commandment,  but  enforcing  an  old 
one. 

This  inference  is  drawn  from  the  words  of  Genesis : 
“And  He  blessed  the  seventh  day  and  sanctified  it” 
(ii.  3),  which  plainly  means  that  he  then  instituted 
it  as  a day  of  rest  and  prayer  for  Adam  and  all  his 
posterity.  It  is  manifest,  also,  from  the  significant 
fact  that  the  Hebrew  people,  for  some  time  before 
they  received  the  law  on  Mount  Sinai,  were  enjoined 
in  the  desert  to  abstain  on  the  Sabbath  Day  from 
gathering  manna,  and  to  rest  from  all  servile  work. 
(Exod.  xvi.  23.)  The  same  conclusion  is  obvious 
from  the  very  words  of  the  precept : Remember  to 
heep  holy  the  Sabbath  Day,  by  which  God  recalls 
to  their  mind  an  already  existing  ordinance  which 
had  grown  well-nigh  obsolete  during  their  bondage 
in  Egypt.  There  is  evidence  that  the  week  and  the 
Sabbath  were  known  to  the  ancient  Chaldeans.  We 
are  therefore  justified  in  asserting  that  it  was  derived 
from  the  primitive  law  given  to  Adam. 

With  what  profound  reverence,  then,  should  we 
view  an  ordinance  instituted  to  draw  man  closer  to 
his  Maker,  and  to  inculcate  in  him  humanity  toward 
his  fellow-beings  and  compassion  for  even  the  beast 
of  burden  ; an  ordinance  whose  observance  was  re- 
quited by  temporal  blessings,  and  whose  violation 
was  avenged  by  grievous  calamities  ; which  was  first 
proclaimed  at  the  dawn  of  human  life,  re-echoed  on 
Mount  Sinai,  and  engraved  by  the  finger  of  God  on 
the  Decalogue ; an  ordinance  which  applies  to  all 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS . 


243 


times  and  places,  and  which  is  demanded  by  the  very 
exigencies  of  our  nature. 

Sunday,  or  the  Lord’s  Day,  is  consecrated  by  the 
Christian  world  to  public  worship,  and  to  rest  from 
servile  work,  in  order  to  commemorate  the  resurrec- 
tion of  our  Saviour  from  the  grave,  by  which  he 
consummated  the  work  of  our  redemption,  and  to 
foreshadow  the  glorious  resurrection  of  the  elect, 
and  eternal  rest  that  will  be  theirs  in  the  life  to 
come.  “We  who  have  believed,”  says  the  Apostle, 
“ shall  enter  into  rest.”  (Heb.  lv.  9-1 1.)  “ There 

remaineth,  therefore,  a day  of  rest  for  the  people  of 
God.”  Yea,  an  everlasting  day  of  rest  and  supreme 
felicity  prefigured  by  the  repose  of  the  ancient  Sab- 
bath. Most  appropriately,  indeed,  has  Sunday  been 
chosen.  If  it  was  proper  to  solemnize  the  day  on 
which  God  created  the  world,  how  much  more  meet 
to  celebrate  the  day  on  which  he  consummated  its 
redemption. 

As  the  worship  of  our  Creator  is  nourished  and 
perpetuated  by  religious  festivals,  so  does  it  languish 
when  they  are  unobserved,  and  become  paralyzed 
when  they  are  suppressed.  Whenever  the  enemies 
of  God  seek  to  destroy  the  religion  of  a people,  they 
find  no  means  so  effectual  for  carrying  out  their 
impious  designs  as  the  suppression  of  the  Sabbath. 
Thus,  when  Antiochus  determined  to  abolish  the 
sacred  laws  of  the  Hebrew  people,  and  to  compel 
them  to  conform  to  the  practice  of  idolatry,  he 
defiled  the  temples  of  Jerusalem  and  Gerizim,  he 
put  an  end  to  the  Jewish  sacrifices,  and,  above  all, 
he  forbade,  under  pain  of  death,  the  observance  of 
the  Sabbath  and  the  other  religious  solemnities , sub- 
stituting in  their  stead  his  own  birthday  and  the 


244 


SUNDA  Y REST 


Feast  of  Bacchus,  as  days  of  sacrifice  and  licentious 
indulgence.  (2  Mac.  vi.) 

The  leaders  of  the  French  Revolution  of  1793 
adopted  similar  methods  for  the  extirpation  of  the 
Lord’s  Day  in  France.  The  churches  were  profaned 
and  dedicated  to  the  Goddess  of  Reason  ; the  priests 
were  exiled  or  put  to  death.  The  very  name  of  Sun- 
day, or  Lord’s  Day,  was  abolished  from  the  calendar, 
that  every  hallowed  tradition  associated  with  that  day 
might  be  obliterated  from  the  minds  of  the  people. 

And  it  is  a well-known  fact  that,  in  our  own  times, 
the  enemies  of  religion  are  the  avowed  opponents  of 
the  Christian  Sabbath.  I have  seen  the  Sunday  vio- 
lated in  Paris,  Brussels,  and  in  other  capitals  of 
Europe.  And  even  in  Rome  I have  seen  workmen 
engaged  on  the  Lord’s  Day  in  excavating  and  in 
building,  — a profanation  which  grieved  the  Holy 
Father,  the  Pope,  as  he  himself  acknowledged  to 
me.  Who  are  they  that  profane  the  Sunday  in  those 
cities  of  Europe  ? They  are  men  lost  to  all  sense  of 
religion,  who  glory  in  their  impiety,  and  who  aim  at 
the  utter  extirpation  of  Christianity. 

A close  observer  cannot  fail  to  note  the  dangerous 
inroads  that  have  been  made  on  the  Lord’s  Day  in 
our  country  within  the  last  quarter  of  a century.  If 
those  encroachments  are  not  checked  in  time,  the 
day  may  come  when  the  religious  quiet,  now  happily 
reigning  in  our  well-ordered  cities,  will  be  changed 
into  noise  and  turbulence ; when  the  sound  of  the 
church-bell  will  be  drowned  by  the  echo  of  the  ham- 
mer and  the  dray  ; when  the  Bible  and  the  prayer- 
book  will  be  supplanted  by  the  newspaper  and  the 
magazine;  when  the  votaries  of  the  theatre  and  the 
drinking  saloon  will  outnumber  the  religious  wor- 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS . 


24s 


shippers,  and  salutary  thoughts  of  God,  of  eternity, 
and  of  the  soul  will  be  choked  by  the  cares  of  busi- 
ness and  by  the  pleasures  and  dissipation  of  the 
world. 

We  cannot  but  admire  the  wisdom  of  God  and  his 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  human  heart  in  designat- 
ing one  day  in  the  week  on  which  public  homage 
should  be  paid  to  him.  So  engrossing  are  the  cares 
and  occupations  of  life,  so  absorbing  its  pleasures, 
that  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  direct  the 
thoughts  of  mankind  to  the  higher  pursuits  of  virtue 
and  religious  worship,  unless  a special  time  is  set 
apart  for  these  spiritual  exercises.  We  have  certain 
hours  assigned  for  retiring  to  rest  and  for  rising 
f from  sleep,  for  partaking  of  our  meals,  and  for  at- 
tending to  our  regular  avocations.  If  we  attended 
to  these  ordinary  pursuits  only  when  inclination 
would  prompt  us,  our  health  would  be  impaired  and 
our  temporal  interests  would  suffer.  And  so,  too, 
would  our  spiritual  nature  grow  torpid  if  there  were 
no  fixed  day  for  renovating  it  by  the  exercise  of 
divine  praise  and  adoration.  We  might  for  a time 
worship  God  at  irregular  intervals,  but  very  probably 
we  would  end  by  neglecting  to  commune  with  him 
altogether. 

The  Christian  Sabbath  is  a living  witness  of  Reve- 
lation, an  abiding  guardian  of  Christianity.  The 
religious  services  held  in  our  churches  each  succes- 
sive Sunday  are  the  most  effective  means  for  keep- 
ing fresh  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  our  people  the 
sublime  and  salutary  teachings  of  the  gospel.  Our 
churches  exercise  on  the  truths  of  revelation  an 
influence  analogous  to  that  exerted  by  our  courts  of 
justice  on  the  civil  law.  The  silence  and  solemnity 


246 


SUNDA  V REST 


of  the  court,  the  presence  of  the  presiding  judge,  the 
power  with  which  he  is  clothed,  the  weight  of  his 
decisions,  give  an  authority  to  our  civil  and  criminal 
jurisprudence,  and  invest  it  with  a sanction  which  it 
could  not  have  if  there  were  no  fixed  tribunals. 

In  like  manner,  the  religious  decorum  observed  in 
our  temples  of  worship,  the  holiness  of  the  place,  the 
sacred  character  of  the  officiating  ministers,  above 
all,  the  reading  and  exposition  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, inspire  men  with  a reverence  for  the  divine 
law,  and  cause  it  to  exert  a potent  influence  in  the 
moral  guidance  of  the  community.  The  summary 
closing  of  our  civil  tribunals  would  not  entail  a more 
disastrous  injury  on  the  laws  of  the  land  than  the 
closing  of  our  churches  would  inflict  on  the  Christian 
religion. 

How  many  social  blessings  are  obtained  by  the 
due  observance  of  the  Lord’s  Day  ! The  institution 
of  the  Christian  Sabbath  has  contributed  more  to 
the  peace  and  good  order  of  nations  than  could  be 
accomplished  by  standing  armies  and  the  best  organ- 
ized police  force.  The  officers  of  the  law  are  a ter- 
ror, indeed,  to  evil-doers,  whom  they  arrest  for  overt 
acts  ; while  the  ministers  of  religion,  by  the  lessons 
they  inculcate,  prevent  crime  by  appealing  to  the 
conscience,  and  promote  peace  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
soul. 

The  cause  of  charity  and  mutual  benevolence  is 
greatly  fostered  by  the  sanctification  of  the  Sunday. 
When  we  assemble  in  church  on  the  Lord’s  Day,  we 
are  admonished  by  that  very  act  that  we  are  all 
members  of  the  same  social  body,  and  that  we  should 
have  for  one  another  the  same  lively  sympathy  and 
spirit  of  co-operation  which  the  members  of  the 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS . 


247 


human  body  entertain  toward  one  another.  We  are 
reminded  that  we  are  all  enlivened  and  sanctified  by 
the  same  Spirit.  “ There  are  diversities  of  graces,” 
says  the  apostle,  “but  the  same  Spirit;  there  are 
diversities  of  ministries,  but  the  same  Lord.  And 
there  are  diversities  of  operation,  but  the  same  God, 
who  worketh  all  in  all.”  (1  Cor.  xii.  4-6.)  We  all 
have  divers  pursuits  and  avocations ; we  occupy  dif- 
ferent grades  of  society,  but  in  the  house  of  God 
all  these  distinctions  are  levelled.  The  same  Spirit 
that  enters  the  heart  of  the  most  exalted  citizen 
does  not  disdain  to  descend  also  into  the  soul  of 
the  humblest  peasant.  We  all  profess  our  faith  in 
the  same  Creator,  and  we  are  all  regenerated  by  the 
waters  of  baptism.  We  hope  for  the  same  heaven. 
We  meet  as  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  same  Lord 
whose  blood  was  shed  on  the  cross,  not  only  to 
cleanse  our  soul  from  sin,  but  to  cement  our  hearts 
in  love.  We  are,  in  a word,  taught  the  comforting 
lesson  that  we  all  have  one  God  and  Father  in 
heaven.  “ One  body,”  says  the  apostle,  “one  Spirit, 
as  you  are  called  in  one  hope  of  your  vocation.  One 
Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of 
all,  who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  us  all.” 
(Eph.  lv.  4-6.) 

If,  indeed,  the  observance  of  the  Sunday  were  irk- 
some and  difficult,  there  would  be  some  excuse  for 
neglecting  this  ordinance.  But  it  is  a duty  which, 
so  far  from  involving  labor  and  self-denial,  contrib- 
utes to  health  of  body  and  contentment  of  mind. 
The  Christian  Sunday  is  not  to  be  confounded  with 
the  Jewish  or  even  the  Puritan  Sabbath.  It  pre- 
scribes the  golden  mean  between  rigid  Sabbatarianism 
on  the  one  hand,  and  lax  indulgence  on  the  other. 


248 


SUNDA  Y REST \ 


There  is  little  doubt  that  the  revulsion  in  public  sen- 
timent from  a rigorous  to  a loose  observance  of  the 
Lord’s  Day  can  be  ascribed  to  the  sincere  but  mis- 
guided zeal  of  those  who  confounded  the  Christian 
Sunday  with  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  and  imposed  re- 
straints on  the  people  which  were  repulsive  to  Chris- 
tian freedom,  and  which  were  not  warranted  by  the 
gospel  dispensation.  The  Lord’s  Day  is  a day  of 
joy.  The  church  desires  us  on  that  day  to  be  cheer- 
ful without  dissipation,  grave  and  religious  without 
sadness  and  melancholy.  She  forbids,  indeed,  all 
unnecessary  servile  work  on  that  day  ; but,  as  “ the 
Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  man  for  the  Sab- 
bath,” she  allows  such  work  whenever  charity  or 
necessity  may  demand  it.  And  as  it  is  a day  conse- 
crated not  only  to  religion,  but  also  to  relaxation  of 
mind  and  body,  she  permits  us  to  spend  a portion  of 
it  in  innocent  recreation.  In  a word,  the  true  con- 
ception of  the  Lord’s  Day  is  expressed  in  the  words 
of  the  Psalmist:  “This  is  the  day  which  the  Lord 
hath  made ; let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice  therein.” 


[From  the  pastoral  letter  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  at  Baltimore .] 
THE  LORD’S  DAY. 

There  are  many  sad  facts  in  the  experience  of  nations 
which  we  may  well  store  up  as  lessons  of  practical  wisdom. 
Not  the  least  important  of  these  is  the  fact  that  one  of  the 
surest  marks  and  measures  of  the  decay  of  religion  in  a 
people  is  their  non-observance  of  the  Lord’s  Day.  In 
travelling  through  some  European  countries,  a Christian’s 
heart  is  pained  by  the  almost' unabated  rush  of  toil  and 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


249 


traffic  on  Sunday.  First,  grasping  avarice  thought  it  could 
not  afford  to  spare  the  day  to  God  ; then  unwise  govern- 
ments, yielding  to  the  pressure  of  mammon,  relaxed  the 
laws  which  for  many  centuries  had  guarded  the  day’s 
sacredness,  — forgetting  that  there  are  certain  fundamen- 
tal principles  which  ought  not  to  be  sacrificed  to  popular 
caprice  or  greed.  And  when,  as  usually  happens,  neglect 
of  religion  had  passed,  by  lapse  of  time,  into  hostility  to 
religion,  this  growing  neglect  of  the  Lord’s  Day  was 
easily  made  use  of  as  a means  to  bring  religion  itself  into 
contempt.  The  church  mourned,  protested,  struggled, 
but  was  almost  powerless  to  resist  the  combined  forces  of 
popular  avarice  and  Caesar’s  influence,  arrayed  on  the 
side  of  irreligion.  The  result  is  the  lamentable  desecra- 
tion which  all  Christians  must  deplore. 

And  the  consequences  of  this  desecration  are  as  manifest 
as  the  desecration  itself.  The  Lord’s  Day  is  the  poor 
man’s  day  of  rest  ; it  has  been  taken  from  him,  — and  the 
laboring  classes  are  a seething  volcano  of  social  discon- 
tent. The  Lord’s  Day  is  the  home  day,  drawing  closer 
the  sweet  domestic  ties,  by  giving  the  toiler  a day  with 
wife  and  children  ; but  it  has  been  turned  into  a day  of 
labor,  — and  home  ties  are  fast  losing  their  sweetness  and 
their  hold.  The  Lord’s  Day  is  the  church  day,  strength- 
ening and  consecrating  the  bond  of  brotherhood  among 
all  men,  by  their  kneeling  together  around  the  altars  of 
the  one  Father  in  heaven ; but  men  are  drawn  away 
from  this  blessed  communion  of  saints,  — and  as  a natu- 
ral consequence  they  are  lured  into  the  counterfeit  com- 
munion of  Socialism,  and  other  wild  and  destructive  sys- 
tems. The  Lord’s  Day  is  God’s  day,  rendering  ever 
nearer  and  more  intimate  the  union  between  the  creature 
and  his  Creator,  and  thus  ennobling  human  life  in  all  its 
relations  ; and  where  this  bond  is  weakened,  an  effort  is 
made  to  cut  man  loose  from  God  entirely,  and  to  leave 
him,  according  to  the  expression  of  St.  Paul,  “ without 


250 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


God  in  this  world.”  (Eph.  ii.  12.)  The  profanation  of 
the  Lord’s  Day,  whatever  be  its  pretext,  is  a defrauding 
both  of  God  and  his  creatures,  and  retribution  is  not  slow. 

In  this  country  there  are  tendencies  and  influences  at 
work  to  bring  about  a similar  result ; and  it  behooves  all 
who  love  God  and  care  for  society  to  see  that  they  be 
checked.  As  usual,  greed  for  gain  lies  at  the  bottom  of 
the  movement.  Even  when  the  pretence  put  forward  is 
popular  convenience  or  popular  amusement,  the  clamor 
for  larger  liberty  does  not  come  so  much  from  those  who 
desire  the  convenience  or  the  amusement,  as  from  those 
who  hope  to  enrich  themselves  by  supplying  it.  Now,  far 
be  it  from  us  to  advocate  such  Sunday  laws  as  would  hin- 
der necessary  work,  or  prohibit  such  popular  enjoyments 
as  are  consistent  with  the  sacredness  of  the  day.  It  is 
well  known,  however,  that  the  tendency  is  to  rush  far 
beyond  the  bounds  of  necessity  and  propriety,  and  to 
allege  these  reasons  only  as  an  excuse  for  virtually  ignor- 
ing the  sacredness  of  the  day  altogether.  But  no  com- 
munity can  afford  to  have  either  gain  or  amusement  at 
such  a cost.  To  turn  the  Lord’s  Day  into  a day  of  toil,  is 
a blighting  curse  to  a country  ; to  turn  it  into  a day  of  dis- 
sipation would  be  worse.  We  earnestly  appeal,  therefore, 
to  all  Catholics,  without  distinction,  not  only  to  take  no 
part  in  any  movement  tending  toward  a relaxation  of  the 
observance  of  Sunday,  but  to  use  their  influence  and 
power  as  citizens  to  resist  in  the  opposite  direction. 

There  is  one  way  of  profaning  the  Lord’s  Day  which  is 
so  prolific  of  evil  results,  that  we  consider  it  our  duty  to 
utter  against  it  a special  condemnation.  This  is  the 
practice  of  selling  beer  or  other  liquors  on  Sunday,  or  of 
frequenting  places  where  they  are  sold.  This  practice 
tends  more  than  any  other  to  turn  the  day  of  the  Lord 
into  a day  of  dissipation,  to  use  it  as  an  occasion  for 
breeding  intemperance.  While  we  hope  that  Sunday  laws 
on  this  point  will  not  be  relaxed,  but  even  more  rigidly 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS . 


2SI 


enforced,  we  implore  all  Catholics,  for  the  love  of  God 
and  of  country,  never  to  take  part  in  such  Sunday  traffic, 
nor  to  patronize  nor  countenance  it.  And  we  not  only 
direct  the  attention  of  all  pastors  to  the  repression  of  this 
abuse,  but  we  also  call  upon  them  to  induce  all  of  their 
flocks  that  may  be  engaged  in  the  sale  of  liquors  to 
abandon,  as  soon  as  they  can,  the  dangerous  traffic,  and 
to  embrace  a more  becoming  way  of  making  a living. 

And  here  it  behooves  us  to  mind  our  workingmen,  the 
bone  and  sinew  of  the  people,  and  the  specially  beloved 
children  of  the  church,  that  if  they  wish  to  observe  Sun- 
day as  they  ought,  they  must  keep  away  from  drinking 
places  on  Saturday  night.  Carry  your  wages  home  to 
your  families,  where  they  rightfully  belong.  Turn  a deaf 
ear,  therefore,  to  every  temptation  ; and  then  Sunday  will 
be  a bright  day  for  all  the  family.  How  much  better  this 
than  to  make  it  a day  of  sin  for  yourselves,  and  of  gloom 
and  wretchedness  for  your  homes,  by  a Saturday  night’s 
folly  or  debauch  ! No  wonder  that  the  prelates  of  the 
Second  Plenary  Council  declared  that  “ the  most  shocking 
scandals  which  we  have  to  deplore  spring  from  intemper- 
ance.” No  wonder  that  they  gave  a special  approval  to 
the  zeal  of  those  who,  the  better  to  avoid  excess,  or  in 
order  to  give  bright  example,  pledge  themselves  to  total 
abstinence.  Like  them,  we  invoke  a blessing  on  the  cause 
of  temperance,  and  on  all  who  are  laboring  for  its  ad- 
vancement in  a true  Christian  spirit.  Let  the  exertions  of 
our  Catholic  Temperance  Societies  meet  with  the  hearty 
co-operation  of  pastors  and  people  ; and  not  only  will  they 
go  far  towards  strangling  the  monstrous  evil  of  intem- 
perance, but  they  will  also  put  a powerful  check  on  the 
desecration  of  the  Lord’s  Day,  and  on  the  evil  influences 
now  striving  for  its  total  profanation.  . . . 


252 


SUN  DA  V REST. 


II. 

PROF.  A.  SPAETH , D.D. 

SUMMING  up  the  statements  of  the  Lutheran 
Confessions  on  the  Lord’s  Day,  we  find  there 
the  following  principal  points  : (i.)  The  Jewish  Sab- 
bath is  abrogated  under  the  New  Testament,  and 
there  is  no  room  for  Sabbatarianism  in  the  faith 
and  practice  of  consistent  evangelical  Christians. 
(2.)  There  is  no  direct  divine  law  as  to  the  keeping 
of  set  days  and  the  exact  manner  of  keeping  them. 
(3.)  The  Christian  conscience,  therefore,  is  not  under 
any  positive  divine  law  concerning  the  specific  extent 
of  resting,  or  abstaining  from  labor.  (4.)  Seasons 
of  rest  are,  however,  absolutely  necessary  to  man, 
as  an  inherent  right  and  demand  of  human  nature. 
They  must  be  kept  and  guarded  particularly  for  the 
protection  of  the  laboring  classes.  (5.)  The  rest 
thus  needed  and  gained  from  secular  employment  is 
to  be  devoted  to  the  word  of  God,  the  means  of 
grace.  (6.)  While  Christian  liberty  is  thus  main- 
tained concerning  the  principle  of  appointing  and 
keeping  certain  days,  now  that  the  church  has  in  her 
freedom  and  good  judgment  selected  the  first  day  of 
the  week  as  the  Lord’s  Day,  the  Christian  is  bound 
to  observe  it  as  a matter  of  good  order  and  charity, 
and  to  avoid  giving  offence  and  creating  a disturb- 
ance. (7.)  The  permanent  moral  law  in  the  Third 
(Fourth)  Commandment  is  strictly  maintained  by 
the  Lutheran  View  ; viz.,  that  the  word  of  God  and 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  on  which  the  salvation 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


253 


of  mankind  depends,  must  be  most  conscientiously 
guarded  and  attended,  and  everything  is  to  be  avoided 
that  might  possibly  interfere  with  the  proper  devotion 
to  the  means  of  grace. 

This  Lutheran  view  of  the  Lord’s  Day  is  in  full 
harmony  with  the  principles  of  the  Lutheran  system 
itself.  Lutheranism  is  nothing  but  the  restoration 
of  sound  Scriptural  Paulinism  over  against  the  Juda- 
izing  and  paganizing  influence  which  corrupted  the 
mediaeval  church.  All  the  confessional  statements 
and  teachings  of  Lutheranism  cluster  around  that 
great  central  doctrine  and  life-experience  of  Paul 
and  of  Luther, — that  man  is  justified  before  God 
solely  by  faith  in  Christ’s  atonement,  and  not  by  any 
human  works  or  efforts  of  his  own.  The  justified 
Christian  is  truly  and  fully  the  child  of  God, — free 
from  condemnation,  free  from  the  law,  free  from  any 
burden  which  men  may  attempt  to  lay  upon  his  con- 
science. In  this  -Christian  liberty  the  believer  is,  as 
Luther  puts  it  (in  his  treatise  on  the  Liberty  of  the 
Christian,  1520),  “ By  faith  a lord  and  master  of  all 
things,  and  yet  at  the  same  time,  by  love,  a servant 
and  bondsman  of  all.”  This  liberty  is  not  libertin- 
ism. For  the  Christians  (says  the  Formula  of  Con- 
cord) are  never  without  law,  and  yet  they  are  not 
tinder , but  in,  the  law,  living  and  walking  in  the 
law  of  the  Lord,  and  yet  performing  nothing  through 
constraint  of  the  law.”  Standing  in  that  centre  of 
Christian  knowledge  and  experience,  justifying  faith, 
the  Christian  learns  to  draw  clearly  and  distinctly 
those  Scriptural  lines  of  demarkation  between  the 
Old  Covenant  and  the  New,  between  the  Law  and 
the  Gospel,  between  Moses  and  Christ,  on  which  so 
much  depends  for  the  purity,  happiness,  and  healthy 


254 


SUNDAY  REST. 


progress  of  his  convictions  and  his  life.  He  recog- 
nizes even  in  the  Decalogue  not  the  summary,  pure 
and  simple,  of  the  moral  law  common  to  all  mankind, 
but  a summary  and  compend  of  Mosaic  legislation 
in  particular.  There  are  certain  Israelitic  features 
of  the  Decalogue  which  were  transitory,  and  came 
to  their  end  when  the  whole  Mosaic  dispensation 
was  fulfilled  and  abrogated  in  Christ.  Only  what 
is  part  of  the  natural  law  of  man,  and  what  has  been 
reasserted  and  established  in  the  New  Testament, 
can  be  recognized  as  the  abiding  moral  law,  binding 
upon  all  mankind. 

Again,  as  the  believing  Christian  exalts  his  justify- 
ing faith  above  everything  that  may  be  his,  so  he 
exalts  the  word  of  God  and  his  ordinances  above  all 
the  objective  gifts  of  God.  It  is  through  these 
divine  means  of  grace  that  forgiveness  of  sins,  life, 
and  salvation  are  offered,  conveyed,  and  sealed  to 
him.  Without  the  word  there  would  be  no  Chris- 
tian faith  at  all,  no  personal  justification  or  sanctifi- 
cation, no  communion  of  saints, — that  is,  no  church 
of  Christ.  Through  the  word  the  living  God  himself 
works  upon  us.  Therefore  we  cannot  possibly  be 
indifferent  to  the  seasons,  the  hours  or  days,  set 
apart  for  this  treasure  above  all  other  treasures. 
The  Lord's  Day  is  essentially  the  ‘ Word's  ' day, — 
the  day  of  planting,  nurturing,  and  maturing  true 
Christian  faith  and  of  resting  from  the  dead  works. 
Comprehensive,  and  at  the  same  time  Scriptural  and 
evangelical,  is  the  view  of  Sunday  and  Sunday  rest 
contained  in  Luther’s  popular  verse  : — 

“ Keep  thee  from  thine  own  labors  free, 

That  God  may  have  his  work  in  thee ! ” 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


255 


hi. 

REV.  W.  W.  ATTERBURY,  D.D . 

IN  speaking  of  the  place  of  the  Sunday  observance 
in  Christianity,  it  will  be  my  aim  to  present  that 
view  of  the  institution  which  is  generally  accepted 
by  what  may  be  called,  for  convenience,  the  Evan- 
gelical Protestant  churches. 

I hardly  need  say  that  I do  not  speak  authorita- 
tively for  any  of  these  churches. 

I shall  not  attempt  to  cite  their  confessional  state- 
ments with  reference  to  the  Sabbath  or  Lord’s  Day, 
but  rather  to  exhibit  the  consensus  of  opinion  on 
this  subject  as  shown  in  treatises,  sermons,  addresses, 
and  the  current  religious  literature.  Theoretically, 
at  least,  these  branches  of  the  Christian  Church 
are,  as  it  seems  to  me,  in  substantial  accord  in  hold- 
ing the  Weekly  Rest-Day  to  be  a divine  ordinance, 
founded  in  the  nature  of  man,  consecrated  by  God  at 
the  creation  of  the  race,  formulated  in  the  fourth  com- 
mand of  the  Decalogue,  recognized  by  Christ,  and 
perpetuated  in  the  Lord’s  Day  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

In  further  explanation,  let  me  speak  briefly  (i),  of 
the  origin  and  authority  of  the  institution;  and  (2), 
of  the  true  spirit  and  method  of  its  observance. 

1.  The  origin  and  authority  of  the  Weekly  Rest. 
Divine  law  is  an  expression  of  the  will  of  the 
Divine  Lawgiver.  In  whatever  way  that  will  may  be 
made  known,  whether  in  the  pages  of  man’s  nature 
and  environment,  or  by  a spoken  or  written  revela- 


256 


SUNDA  V REST 


tion,  — once  ascertained,  it  becomes  law  to  man,  with 
all  the  sanction  of  divine  authority. 

As  the  divine  will  is  ever  at  one  with  itself,  the 
laws  of  Nature  and  the  precepts  of  Revelation  must 
mutually  verify  and  explain  each  other. 

Each  of  the  great  moral  precepts  contained  in  the 
Decalogue,  and  whose  authority  is  universally  recog- 
nized, has  its  counterpart  in  a law  back  of  itself, 
rooted  and  grounded  in  the  constitution  of  man  and 
society ; of  which  law  of  nature  the  written  com- 
mand is  the  formulated  utterance.  Back  of  the 
commandment,  for  instance,  which  enjoins  obedi- 
ence to  parents,  is  that  divinely  appointed  nature  of 
the  child  and  of  the  parent  which  ordains  care  and 
control  on  the  one  hand,  and  obedience  on  the  other. 
It  was  the  will  of  God  manifested  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  family, — in  other  words  a divine  law,  — 
that  the  child  should  honor  and  obey  the  parent, 
before  the  precept  was  spoken  on  Mt.  Sinai  ; and 
it  would  have  continued  to  be  the  law  of  God  so 
long  as  the  constitution  of  the  family  remained 
unchanged,  even  if  the  spoken  command  had  never 
been  given. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  other  precepts  of  the 
Decalogue.  Now,  just  as  behind  the  written  law 
which  commands  obedience  to  parents,  or  that  which 
forbids  murder,  or  adultery,  or  stealing,  men  have 
learned  to  recognize  a previously  existing  natural 
law ; so  back  of  this  command  of  a weekly  Sabbath 
would  we  expect  to  find,  and  we  do  find,  a natural 
law  of  periodic  rest  of  which  this  commandment  is 
the  formulated  counterpart. 

I can  only  allude  to  the  accumulating  evidence 
which  sustains  this  statement.  The  very  fact  of  the 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


257 


widespread  and  long-continued  observance  of  such 
an  institution  would  render  it  probable  that  this 
periodical  rest  meets  a felt  want  of  man’s  nature. 
It  involves  so  costly  and  constant  an  interruption 
of  the  ordinary  habits  of  life,  that  otherwise  it  could 
never  have  maintained  its  place  during  all  the  ages 
and  under  such  diverse  conditions  of  man.  But 
such  a custom  of  periodic  rest  has  existed  from  the 
earliest  history  of  our  race.  Connected  with  the 
measure  of  time  by  the  week  of  seven  days,  it  has 
prevailed  among  peoples  far  removed  from  each 
other,  and  remote,  as  well  as  near  to,  the  Asiatic 
centre  whence  the  tribes  of  men  radiated.  The 
Chaldean  inscriptions  show  that  the  weekly  Rest 
Day  was  observed  not  only  by  the  Assyrians  and 
Babylonians,  that  Semitic  race  to  which  Abraham  be- 
longed and  from  which  he  migrated,  but  by  the  ear- 
lier non-Semitic,  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Chaldea, 
whose  legends  and  histories  have  been  so  singularly 
preserved  and  within  recent  years  deciphered. 

Beside  the  presumption  thus  established  by  its 
wide  observance,  we  have  other  and  more  direct 
proof  that  the  weekly  rest  is  demanded  by  the  wants 
of  man’s  nature.  Long  experience  attests  the  fact 
that  the  rest  of  nightly  sleep  does  hot  adequately 
repair  the  waste  of  ordinary  daily  labor, — that  a 
supplementary  rest  of  one  day  in  seven  is  needed  to 
maintain  man  in  a state  of  highest  efficiency.  A 
scientific  study  of  man  and  his  needs  confirms  the 
testimony  of  experience.1 

But  man  has  a spiritual  as  well  as  a bodily  and 
mental  nature.  It  has  its  needs.  There  are  condi- 
tions favorable  or  the  reverse  to  its  well  being.  The 
1 See  page  21. 


258 


SUNDAY  REST. 


laws  of  man's  spiritual  nature  plainly  show  the  need 
of  periodic  rest.  Is  it  true,  as  the  Christian  holds, 
that  we  are  spiritual  beings,  — kindred  with  God, 
capable  of  communion  with  Him,  having  work  to  do 
for  Him  here,  destined  to  meet  Him  hereafter?  Then 
it  must  be  beyond  question  that  the  claims  of  the 
spiritual  part  of  man's  nature  must  be  held  in  supreme 
regard  ; that  life  here  must  have  constant  reference 
to  this  higher  relation,  and  should  be  so  ordered  as 
to  promote  its  ends. 

Now,  for  this  purpose  it  needs  little  argument  to 
show  the  necessity  of  a Weekly  Rest-Day.  The  in- 
evitable effect  of  daily  contact  with  the  world  in 
meeting  the  wants  of  the  body  is  to  secularize  the 
mind,  to  absorb  it  in  earthly  interests  and  cares,  and 
to  impair  the  impression  which  spiritual  truths  are 
fitted  to  make  upon  it. 

The  diver,  encased  in  his  marine  armor,  may  de- 
scend into  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and  carry  on  his 
work  a while  there,  because  supplied  by  the  vital  air 
through  the  narrow  tube  from  the  air-pump  in  the 
boat  floating  on  the  surface  ; but  so  partial  at  the 
best  is  the  supply  of  air,  that  only  for  a little  while 
at  a time  can  he  live  and  labor  in  these  depths. 
Ever  and  anon  he  must  come  up,  and,  casting  off  his 
encasement,  breathe  without  restraint  the  pure  air 
of  heaven.  So  the  Christian,  doing  his  Lord's  will 
amid  the  distracting  scenes  of  the  week  and  of  the 
world,  may  indeed  maintain  spiritual  life  through 
the  imperfect  opportunities  of  communion  with  God 
which  the  week-day  affords  him  ; but  what  Christian 
man  does  not  feel  the  need  of  at  least  one  day  in 
seven,  when  he  can  leave  the  distractions  of  the 
week  and  of  the  world  behind  him,  and,  throwing  off 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS . 


259 


the  burden  of  secular  cares,  breathe  the  atmosphere 
of  uninterrupted  communion  with  God. 

Said  one  who  was  regarded  as  holding  far  from 
strict  views  of  the  Sunday  observance,  the  late  Fred- 
eric W.  Robertson  of  Brighton  : — 

“ I am  more  and  more  sure  by  experience  that  the  reason  for 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  lies  deep  in  the  everlasting  neces- 
sities of  human  nature.”  “The  soul  withers  without  it.  It 
thrives  in  proportion  to  the  fidelity  of  the  observance.” 

Just  as  we  need  holy  places,  — the  closet,  the  ora- 
tory, the  church,  the  temple,  — places  not  in  them- 
selves holier  than  other  places  of  daily  resort  for 
trade  or  pleasure,  but  holy  because  set  apart  from  a 
common  to  a specially  sacred  use  to  foster  reverence, 
to  promote,  by  the  law  of  association,  the  spirit  of 
worship  — so,  I say,  do  we  need  separated  times,  a 
sacred  day,  not  holier  in  itself  than  other  days,  but 
holy  because  set  apart  from  common  to  special  and 
spiritual  uses. 

But  not  to  dwell  further  on  what  has  been  more 
fully  presented  in  other  papers  — I want  you  to  look 
at  the  bearing  of  these  facts  upon  our  argument. 
Let  us  reverse  the  steps  we  have  just  taken. 

We  find  disclosed,  with  more  or  less  distinctness 
in  the  complex  nature  of  man,  a law  of  weekly  rest. 
Now  just  as  the  other  great  natural  laws  — that  of 
the  family,  of  life,  purity,  property,  etc. — have  each 
its  counterpart  in  the  written  Word,  are  each  formu- 
lated there  with  the  explicit  sanction  of  “thou  shalt,” 
“thou  shalt  not,”  should  we  not  expect  to  find  also 
this  law  of  periodic  rest  formulated  in  the  written 
Word  ? If  it  is  just  as  really  a natural  law  as  the 
other  precepts  of  that  written  code  which  we  call  the 


26o 


SUNDAY  REST. 


Decalogue,  should  we  not  expect  to  find  it  in  place 
with  them  there,  of  equal  authority  because  enunci- 
ated with  equal  distinctness  — put  there  for  man’s 
guidance,  before  he  had  learned  by  experience  the 
natural  law  which  is  its  counterpart  ; just  as  other 
of  the  precepts,  the  seventh  and  eighth  for  instance, 
were  given  for  man  to  obey  before  he  was  able  to 
discern  the  laws  of  nature  of  which  they  are  the 
expression,  and  needed  for  this  reason  to  be  told 
explicitly  what  to  do  and  what  to  forbear  doing  ? 

And  notice  how  simple  and  elementary  are  the 
terms  of  this  as  of  the  other  precepts  of  this  writ- 
ten law.  As  many  commentators  think,  the  Fourth 
Commandment,  in  its  original  form  as  spoken  by  God 
and  recorded  on  the  tables  of  stone,  consisted  like 
the  others  of  a single  phrase,  “ Remember  the  Rest 
Day  to  keep  it  holy.”  It  simply  prescribes  a pro- 
portion of  time  to  be  set  apart  from  bread-winning 
toil  to  other  and,  in  some  sense,  sacred  uses.1  It  is  a 
precept  which,  like  the  others  of  the  Decalogue,  is 
applicable  to  all  peoples,  in  all  circumstances  and 
conditions.  Like  each  of  the  other  great  moral  pre- 
cepts with  which  it  stands  associated,  it  was  after- 
ward embodied  in  the  municipal  code  of  Jewish  law, 
with  provisions  adapted  and  pertaining  to  the  Jews 
alone.  But  its  re-enactment  in  the  municipal  code 
of  Israel  no  more  disproves  its  original  and  universal 
application,  than  the  re-enactment  in  the  Jewish 
municipal  code  of  the  law  forbidding  adultery,  with 
provisions  peculiar  to  Israel,  impugns  the  original 

1 The  Talmud,  the  traditional  interpretation  of  the  Mosaic  law,  re- 
ceived by  the  Jews  as  authoritative,  says:  “ If  one  is  on  a journey  or 
in  a desert,  and  does  not  know  which  day  is  the  Sabbath,  he  is  to  count 
six  days  (as  week-days),  and  keep  the  seventh  day  as  a Sabbath.”  — 
Talmud , Tract  Sabbath , fol.  69,  b. 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


26l 


authority  and  application  of  the  Seventh  Command- 
ment. 

Here,  then,  we  find  the  origin  and  authority  of  the 
Sabbath  or  weekly  rest  : it  is  a law  of  nature  ; i.e.,  a 
law  of  God,  and  as  such  it  was  formulated  in  the 
Fourth  Commandment  of  the  Decalogue. 

The  limits  of  this  paper  permit  me  only  to  allude 
to  the  relation  of  Christ  to  this  institution.  Neither 
by  word  or  act  did  Christ  deny  the  obligation  of  the 
Sabbath  law  ; but,  on  the  contrary,  in  his  defence  of 
his  conduct,  he  clearly  assumes  the  obligation  of  the 
law  rightly  understood.  He  did  not  indeed  enjoin  it 
upon  the  Jews  to  keep  the  Sabbath.  No  such  in- 
junction was  needed.  The  time  had  not  yet  come  to 
enjoin  the  keeping  of  the  first  day  as  the  Weekly 
Rest-Day  ; and  as  to  the  seventh  day,  a people  who 
would  not  kill  a flea  or  walk  on  the  grass  or  minister 
to  the  sick  on  the  Sabbath,  who  would  stand  still  and 
be  hewed  in  pieces  sooner  than  violate  the  day,  as 
they  understood  it,  surely  did  not  need  to  be  told 
anew  that  they  ought  to  keep  it.  But  they  did  need 
to  be  recalled  to  the  true  intent  of  the  institution, 
and  this  Christ  did.  He  took  great  pains  to  remove 
from  its  observance  the  superstitious  excrescences 
with  which  it  had  come  to  be  deformed,  to  restore  it 
to  its  true  use,  to  illustrate  its  benign  character.  In 
the  same  way  he  treated  the  law  of  marriage,  the 
law  of  the  family,  and  the  law  of  property.  He  did 
not  in  this  way  treat  circumcision  or  sacrifices  or 
other  exclusively  Jewish  ceremonials. 

When  one  with  great  pains  repairs  and  restores 
the  house  in  which  his  forefathers  have  lived,  it  is 
not  that  it  may  presently  be  torn  down,  but  that  it 
may  continue  to  serve  its  purpose  as  a home  for  the 
generations  that  should  come  after. 


262 


SUNDA  Y REST 


Time  will  not  permit  me,  nor  is  it  necessary  to  the 
purpose  of  this  paper,  to  trace  the  institution  in  the 
subsequent  history  of  the  Apostolic  church,  or  to 
show  how,  side  by  side  with  the  decaying  Jewish 
seventh-day  Sabbath,  there  grew  up  the  Christian 
observance  of  the  first  day  of  the  week ; how  it 
gradually  assumed  the  whole  beneficent  character 
and  uses  of  the  seventh-day  observance,  — casting 
off  so  much  of  the  latter  as  was  local  and  temporary, 
preserving  its  sacred  significance  as  a memorial  of 
the  completed  creation,  while  investing  it  with  even 
a higher  significance  to  the  Christian  as  a memorial 
of  his  Lord’s  resurrection,  in  token  of  which  it  as- 
sumed the  new  name  of  the  Lord’s  Day. 

2.  I come  now  to  speak  briefly  of  the  other  point 
which  clain\s  attention  in  considering  the  place  of 
the  Sunday  observance  in  the  Christian  church,  — 
and  that  is  as  to  the  true  method  and  spirit  of  its  ob- 
servance by  Christians.  * 

Turning  to  the  New  Testament  for  our  guidance 
here,  we  are  struck  with  the  absence  of  specific 
rules  on  this  point.  Under  the  Jewish  economy,  the 
various  laws  of  God  were  exhibited  in  minute  details. 
God  dealt  aforetime  with  his  people  as  a father  with 
his  little  child.  The  father  makes  known  his  will  by 
minute  directions,  which  the  child  cannot  mistake. 
But  when  the  child  grows  to  years  of  understanding, 
the  father’s  will  is  expressed  in  more  general  terms, 
to  be  interpreted  and  applied  by  loving  and  loyal  in- 
telligence. Under  the  gospel,  law  is  expressed  more 
and  more  in  the  form  of  general  principles.  The 
law  of  the  Sabbath,  as  formulated  in  the  Fourth  Com- 
mandment, is,  as  we  have  seen,  very  simple  and  ele- 
mentary in  its  terms.  But  the  Israelite  in  applying 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS.  263 

it  was  not  left  to  his  own  discretion.  He  was  sup- 
plied with  specific  rules. 

Now,  in  the  absence  of  such  specific  rules  under 
the  gospel,  have  we  any  principle  to  guide  the  Chris- 
tian as  to  how  he  should  observe  the  day  in  his  new 
circumstances,  in  the  midst,  let  us  say,  of  our  nine- 
teenth century  civilization,  and  the  complicated  exi- 
gencies of  our  modern  life  ? 

We  answer,  Yes.  Christ  himself  has  given  us 
just  such  a principle,  and  has  taught  us  by  his  own 
example  how  to  apply  it.  “ The  Sabbath  was  made 
for  man,  not  man  for  the  Sabbath”  — words  often 
wrested  from  their  true  meaning,  and  made  to  sus- 
tain views,  in  opposite  extremes,  alike  opposed  to 
what  seems  to  us  their  true  intent. 

Fairly  interpreted,  these  words  mean  more  than  that 
the  man  existed  before  the  written  command,  before 
the  institution.  His  well-being  is  the  end  and  aim 
of  the  ordinance,  and  it  must  be  so  interpreted  and 
applied  as  to  secure  that  end.  In  other  words,  Christ 
refers  for  the  interpretation  of  the  written  law  to  the 
natural  law,  which  lies  back  of  it  and  on  which  it 
is  founded.  For,  as  we  had’ occasion  to  observe  -at 
the  beginning,  the  laws  of  Nature  and  those  of  Rev- 
elation mutually  verify  and  explain  each  other. 

Here,  then,  is  the  practical  principle  by  which  we 
are  to  regulate  our  observance  of  this  institution  of 
the  Weekly  Rest.  We  are  to  use  it  in  such  a way 
as  to  gain  from  it  the  beneficent  ends  for  which  it 
was  given.  And  Christ  leaves  it  to  the  intelligent 
and  loving  loyalty  of  each  Christian  to  apply  this 
principle  to  himself. 

There  is,  for  instance,  the  physical  and  mental 
rest  and  refreshment  which  come  from  the  inter- 


264 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


ruption  of  bread-winning  toil  and  the  turning  of  the 
thoughts  and  activities  into  such  other  than  the 
accustomed  channels  as  will  conduce  to  this  good 
end.  Then  there  is  the  higher  design  and  use  of 
the  day,  to  minister  to  the  improvement  of  the 
Christian’s  spiritual  nature,  to  lift  him  into  closer 
communion  with  God  by  thinking  God’s  thoughts, 
cultivating  God’s  spirit,  doing  God’s  work. 

Further,  just  as  around  the  sharp  curves  of  a rail- 
way men  put  guard-rails,  to  keep  the  train  true  to 
the  track,  the  New  Testament  gives  us  certain  aux- 
iliary principles  to  help  us  to  apply  this,  as  other 
laws  of  God.  There  are  two  of  these  that  specially 
apply  to  the  case  before  us.  The  one  is  expressed  in 
the  words  “look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things, 
but  also  on  the  things  of  others.”  This  is  not  a 
new  principle  in  its  application  to  the  Weekly  Rest ; 
it  was  taught  away  back  at  the  first  giving  of  the 
command  to  Israel.  “Thou,  nor  thy  sons,  nor  thy 
daughters,  thy  man-servant,  and  thy  maid-servant, 
and  the  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates.’.’  In  other 
words,  in  our  observance  and  enjoyment  of  this  in- 
stitution we  are  to  respect  every  other  man’s  equal 
right  to  its  benefits.  This  is  one  guard-rail,  and  it 
protects  a very  dangerous  curve  in  the  track  of  many 
of  us. 

Then  there  is  another  auxiliary  principle,  a guard- 
rail on  the  other  side  of  the  track,  and  that  is  the 
principle  of  Christian  expediency — Christian  mag- 
nanimity. “All  things  are  lawful  unto  me,  but  all 
things  are  not  expedient.”  In  deciding  to  do  or  not 
to  do  things  which  are  right  enough  in  themselves, 
things  which  I have  a right  to  do,  I should  have 
respect  to  the  influence  of  these  doings  upon  my 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


265 


brethren — my  weaker  brethren,  it  may  be.  I do 
not  yield — nay,  if  need  be,  I will  resist  their  claim 
to  judge  me  in  things  which  my  conscience  assures 
me  are  right.  But  I will  judge  myself — I will  ab- 
stain from  doing  that  which  I have  a right  to  do,  if 
my  doing  it  is  likely  to  lead  others  into  doing  what 
their  consciences  do  not  approve. 

I cannot  close  without  one  other  thought,  in 
showing  the  spirit  of  the  Sunday  observance,  in 
Christianity.  We  call  it  the  Lord’s  Day  because  it 
commemorates  the  rising  from  death  and  the  living 
again  of  him  whom  we  worship  as  our  Saviour  and 
Lord.  It  is  thus  a day  fraught  with  the  gladdest 
associations  to  the  Christian.  If  the  ancient  Jew, 
on  returning  to  his  home  from  the  synagogue  on  the 
evening  which  ushered  in  the  Sabbath,  found  the 
house  lighted,  the  table  spread,  and  the  whole  house- 
hold rejoicing  as  at  the  coming  of  a bride,  much 
more  does  the  Christian  welcome  the  dawning  of 
the  Lord’s  Day,  in  its  significance  so  much  higher 
and  sweeter  than  the  old-time  Sabbath.  It  brings 
to  him  not  bonds,  but  liberty.  However  it  may  be 
on  other  days,  he  stands  on  this  day  amid  his  house- 
hold, no  man’s  bond-servant,  — a free  man  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

If  the  Lord’s  Day  is  something  very  unlike  this 
with  any  of  us  who  profess  and  call  ourselves  Chris- 
tians, is  it  not  due,  not  to  our  Christianity,  but  to  our 
want  of  it  ? 


2 66 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


THE  SABBATH  IN  JUDAISM. 

BY  RABBI  DR.  B.  FELSENTIIAL . 

THE  Sabbath,  conceived  as  a day  of  rest  and  of 
sanctification,  is  undoubtedly  of  Jewish  origin, 
and  to  the  Jews  the  Christian  world  is  indebted  for 
this  grand  institution.  It  is  true  that  other  Semitic 
nations,  among  them  the  Assyrians  especially,  cele- 
brated in  their  own  way  and  manner  one  day  in  each 
week  long  before  the  Israelites  did  so.  But  with 
them  the  day  wa^  not  a day  of  rest,  giving  recrea- 
tion to  the  body  ; not  a day  of  pure  and  innocent  joy, 
refreshing  the  soul ; not  a day  of  thoughtful  medita- 
tion, enlarging  the  mind.  It  was  with  them  either  a 
day  of  fasting,  of  wailing,  and  lamentation,  or  a day 
given  up  to  sensual  excesses  and  to  low  and  degrad- 
ing revelry.  And  furthermore,  it  was  dedicated  to 
the  god  Saturn,  whom  the  prophet  Amos  mentions 
under  the  name  Kiyyun,  or  to  some  other  of  the 
gods  worshipped  by  these  heathen  nations.  From 
Western  Asia  the  belief  in  the  seven  planetary  dei- 
ties, ruling  the  seven  days  of  the  week,  came  to 
Egypt, — from  Egypt  to  Rome,  from  Rome  to  Gallia, 
Germania,  the  British  Islands,  and  other  European 
countries  ; and  in  the  English  language  the  name 
of  the  seventh  day  of  the  week,  the  name  Saturday, 
still  bears  witness  to  the  fact  that  the  seventh  day  of 
the  week  was  dedicated  in  ancient  times  to  the  god 
Saturn. 

While  among  the  Assyrians  and  a few  kindred 
nations  the  day  celebrated  in  each  week  was  devoted 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


267 


either  to  fasting  and  mourning,  or  to  sensual  and 
dissolute  pleasures,  the  celebration  of  the  Sabbath 
among  the  Israelites  was  decidedly  and  essentially 
of  quite  a different  nature.  With  them  it  was,  or  at 
least  it  became  in  the  course  of  a few  centuries,  a 
day  of  joyful  rest  from  wearisome  labor,  a day  of 
holiness,  of  elevating  the  mind,  of  cleansing  the 
heart,  of  purifying  the  soul.  It  became  a means  of 
lifting  up  the  Israelite  and  placing  him,  religiously 
and  morally,  on  a higher  plane.  In  this  connection 
it  deserves  especially  to  be  noted  that  by  the  Sab- 
bath the  Israelite  was  led  to  a humane  treatment 
of  all  his  fellow-beings,  including  the  sorrow-laden 
stranger  and  the  afflicted  slave,  and  even  the  toiling 
and  otherwise  helpless  cattle.  For  thus  it  is  re- 
peatedly said  in  the.  law,  Thy  man-servant  and  thy 
maid-servant  shall  rest  on  the  Sabbath  Day,  as  well 
as  thyself  ) and  the  stranger  within  thy  gates  also,  and 
thy  ox  and  thy  ass  likewise.  And  this  day  was  not 
devoted  to  Saturn,  or  to  some  other  pagan  deity,  but 
it  was  Shabbath  la-Jehovah  Elohekha , a Sabbath  de- 
voted “to  the  Lord  thy  God  it  was  Kodesh , sanc- 
tified, or  set  apart,  to  the  service  of  the  Lord,  to  the 
one  God  of  Israel  and  of  all  the  world,  to  the  Ruler 
of  all  nations,  the  Father  of  mankind.  In  the  first 
centuries  following  the  time  of  Moses,  the  masses 
of  the  people  had  not  risen  to  the  heights  of  the 
pure  and  lofty  conception  of  the  Sabbath-idea  as  it 
was  taught  by  the  divinely  inspired  prophets.  From 
the  words  of  warning  and  admonition  and  exhorta- 
tion falling  from  the  lips  of  several  of  these  prophets, 
we  must  conclude  that  there  were  large  numbers  of 
people  who  disregarded  or  profaned  the  Sabbath,  and 
who  did  not  keep  it  in  the  sense  desired  by  these 


268 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


incomparable  teachers,  by  these  teachers  who  were 
teachers  not  only  for  their  contemporaries,  but  for 
all  subsequent  generations,  and  not  only  for  Israel, 
but  for  all  the  world. 

Still,  nearly  a hundred  years  after  the  return  from 
the  Babylonian  captivity,  Nehemiah  bitterly  com- 
plained of  the  profanation  of  the  Sabbath  ; and  from 
the  Biblical  book  bearing  his  name  we  learn  how  he 
insisted  upon  certain  measures  in  order  to  bring 
about  a better  observance  of  the  day.  But  in  post- 
Nehemian  times  a stricter  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath became  general ; and  from  the  fifth  century,  b.c., 
until  the  middle  of  the  present  century,  the  Jews,  as 
a community,  rarely,  if  ever,  desecrated  the  Sabbath 
by  physical  labor  or  otherwise.  On  the  contrary,  a 
spirit  of  extreme  rigor  in  the  manner  of  keeping  the 
Sabbath  grew  up  rapidly,  and  a tendency  prevailed  to 
extend  to  the  utmost  limits  the  practice  of  abstain- 
ing from  labor,  and  to  follow  the  deductions  from 
this  law,  and  the  ramifications  of  the  same  in  all  pos- 
sible directions.  But  there  was  a danger  lurking  in 
this  tendency,  — the  danger  that  thereby  the  higher 
character  of  the  Sabbath  and  its  power  for  sanctify- 
ing the  soul-life  of  the  observant  Jew  might  be  for- 
gotten, or  might  at  least  be  pushed  into  the  back- 
ground. Happily  — thus  impartial  history  teaches 
us  — these  apprehensions  proved  to  be  groundless. 
The  Sabbath  retained  its  sanctifying  power  and  in- 
fluence even  among  the  extremest  of  the  strictly 
law-abiding  Jews,  with  whom  each  of  the  numerous 
precepts  of  the  so-called  Oral  Law  or  Traditional 
Law  was  a noli  me  tangere. 

By  a majority  of  the  people,  at  least,  the  essence 
of  the  Sabbath  was  not  considered  to  exist  in  the 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS.  269 

observance  of  the  innumerable  Talmudical  and  Rab- 
binical prohibitions,  telling  us  what  a Jew  must  not 
do  on  the  Sabbath  ; and  the  higher  character  of  the 
Sabbath  did  not  disappear  and  did  not  become  lost 
among  the  Jews.  Nevertheless,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  great  teacher  of  Nazareth  was  perfectly  cor- 
rect when  he  upbraided  a certain  class  of  his  Jewish 
contemporaries  for  their  laying  the  main  stress  and 
accent  upon  the  negative  side  of  keeping  the  Sab- 
bath. His  words  regarding  the  Sabbath  were  golden 
words.  And  he  was  in  full  harmony  and  accord  with 
other  Jewish  teachers  living  in  his  time  or  soon  after 
him,  when  he  maintained  that  not  in  Sabbath  cere- 
monials, and  not  in  scrupulously  abstaining  from  phys- 
ical labor,  consists  the  holiness  of  the  Sabbath  ; and 
when  he  said  that  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man, 
and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath. 

Rabbinical  sayings  which  have  come  down  to  us 
from  the  apostolic  age,  and  which  are  clothed  almost 
in  the  very  words  in  which  the  corresponding  New 
Testament  sentences  are  expressed,  we  meet  fre- 
quently in  various  parts  of  the  Talmudical  literature. 
Ha-Shabbath  mesurah  lakhem  veto  attem  mesurim  la- 
Shabbath , — the  Sabbath  is  handed  over  to  yon,  but 
you  are  not  handed  over  to  the  Sabbath.  Kolsaphek 
nephashoth  do  he  eth  ha-Shabbath , — if  the  remotest 
danger  to  health  or  life  is  to  be  apprehended,  the 
Sabbath  must  be  disregarded,  and  the  Sabbath  laws 
deviated  from.  These  and  similar  sentences  could 
be  quoted  from  the  Jewish  literature  of  those  times 
in  large  number.  The  regulations  of  the  Pharisees 
in  the  time  of  Jesus,  the  laws  laid  down  by  the  dia- 
lecticians of  the  Talmud  and  their  followers  in  later 
centuries,  by  the  casuists  of  the  post-Talmudical 


270 


SUNDA  Y REST 


period,  — these  could  not  and  did  not  deprive  the 
Jewish  Sabbath  of  its  higher  and  holier  character. 
They  contributed  rather  in  a certain  degree  to  en- 
hance the  holiness  of  the  Sabbath,  and  to  give  to 
the  day  a still  greater  power  for  sanctifying  the  in- 
ner and  the  outer  life  of  the  confessors  of  Judaism. 

But,  in  briefly  outlining  the  history  of  the  Sabbath 
institution  among  the  Jews,  should  we  restrict  our- 
selves to  merely  looking  up  the  old  Jewish  law-books  ? 
No  live  institution  can  be  fully  understood  if  we 
study  merely  the  written  laws  and  ordinances  con- 
cerning the  same.  The  life  of  any  great  institution 
and  its  real  character  manifest  themselves  indepen- 
dently of  the  words  of  books,  of  the  letter  of  laws,  of 
the  sayings  of  old  authorities.  And  if  we  now  ask 
history,  we  shall  soon  learn  that  the  Sabbath  proved 
to  be  an  institution  of  the  greatest  blessing  for  the 
Jews.  It  was  for  them,  in  the  first  place,  one  of  the 
means,  and  a very  powerful  one,  by  which  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Jews  as  a separate  religious  community 
was  secured.  The  Sabbath  endowed  them  with  an 
unshakable  confidence  in  a Divine  Providence,  and 
gave  them  every  week  new  strength  to  withstand 
the  almost  unceasing  cruel  and  pitiless  attempts  to 
exterminate  the  Jewish  people  and  to  extinguish  the 
Jewish  religion  ; it  kept  them  united  as  one  religious 
denomination,  in  spite  of  their  having  been  dispersed 
over  so  many  parts  of  the  world,  and  despite  of  their 
having  no  ruling  hierarchy  and  no  other  centralizing 
authorities.  The  Sabbath,  together  with  a few  other 
strong  bonds,  effected  this  almost  miraculous  perpet- 
uation of  Israel’s  existence. 

And  what  great  bliss  and  happiness  did  the  Sab- 
bath bring  to  the  family  life  ! The  more  the  storms 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


27 1 


raged  outside,  the  closer  and  firmer  became  the  mu- 
tual attachment  of  the  members  of  the  family  to  each 
other,  and  of  the  families  among  themselves.  And 
while  the  Jews  throughout  the  week  had  to  go  into 
the  world  to  see  where  they  could  find  the  scanty 
bread  for  themselves  and  their  families,  and  while  in 
doing  so  they  had  to  experience  so  much  humiliation, 
and  had  to  become  the  victim  of  so  much  malice  and 
so  much  hatred,  — when  the  Friday  evening  came, 
and  they  were  again  within  the  circles  of  their  fami- 
lies, they  were  filled  with  joy  ; they  lighted  the  Sab- 
bath lamps  ; they  sang  their  Sabbath  hymns ; they 
chanted  their  Psalms  ; and  they  forgot,  once  in  each 
week,  all  the  sorrows  and  cares  of  their  every-day 
life,  and  all  the  affronts  and  insults  which,  without 
pity  and  without  mercy,  were  heaped  upon  them,  and 
at  least  on  the  Sabbath  Day  they  felt  released  in  body 
and  soul  from  troubles  and  burdens. 

The  Sabbath  proved,  also,  a great  blessing  for  the 
Jews  in  another  regard.  To  the  observance  of  this 
day  the  Jews  owe  the  conspicuous  fact  that  igno- 
rance never  spread  among  them  so  far  as  among  many 
other  nations  and  sects.  With  the  Jews  education 
and  learning  were  at  all  times  kept  in  high  esteem. 
In  addition  to  this  came  now  the  deeply  rooted  usage 
that  in  each  city  and  town  where  Jews  lived  dis- 
courses were  delivered  and  debates  held  on  the  Sab- 
bath Day  in  the  schools,  in  the  synagogues,  in  the 
meeting-rooms  of  societies  of  various  kinds  ; and  in 
consequence  of  the  instruction  received  by  these  dis- 
courses and  debates  the  .audiences  were  more  or  less 
enlightened  in  the  principles  of  their  faith  and  in  the 
doctrines  and  precepts  *of  their  religion.  And  thus 
to  the  Sabbath,  too,  can  we  partly  ascribe  the  fact 


272 


SUNDA  V REST 


that  in  that  period  of  history  called  the  Middle  Ages, 
a period  which  was  characterized  by  deep  darkness 
of  ignorance  and  superstition  prevailing  almost  every- 
where among  Christian  nations,  numerous  poets, 
philosophers,  and  scholars  arose  and  flourished  among 
the  Jews. 

* We  must,  before  we  close,  not  forget  to  remark 
that  the  Jewish  Sabbath  had  at  all  times  the  charac- 
ter of  cheerfulness  and  delight.  Even  in  the  Old 
Testament  we  read  the  words  of  the  prophet,  by 
which  he  reminded  the  people  to  “ call  the  Sabbath 
a delight.”  And  in  the  post-biblical  literature  of  the 
Jews  we  find  evidence  that  the  Sabbath  was  for  the 
Jews  a day  of  cheerfulness*  and  of  sunshine,  a hun- 
dredfold and  a thousandfold. 

Other  sources  of  Jewish  history  corroborate  more 
than  fully  the  fact  that  the  Sabbath  among  the  Jews 
had  a serene  and  cheering  character.  On  each  Fri- 
day afternoon,  when  the  Sabbath  was  approaching, — 
so  we  read  in  the  Talmud,  — Rabbi  Hanina  clothed 
himself  in  his  festive  attire  and  went  into  the  fields 
with  his  disciples  and  friends,  saying  to  them,  “ Come, 
let  us  go  to  meet  becomingly  and  in  a festive  mood  the 
queen  Sabbath.”  Rabbi  Jannai  acted  likewise  ; and 
he  was  accustomed  to  receive  the  Sabbath  joyfully 
by  saying,  “ Be  welcome,  O bride ! Be  welcome,  O 
bride  ! ” Rabbi  Josua,  another  great  authority  of  the 
Talmud,  said,  “Let  the  celebration  of  the  Sabbath 
be  divided  into  two  parts,  one  half  to  be  devoted  to 
God,  the  other  half  to  your  own  enjoyment.”  Rabbi 
Jose  said,  “Whosoever  keeps  the  Sabbath  in  a joyous 
manner  will  be  richly  rewarded.”  Rabbi  Jehudah 
added,  “Whosoever  keeps  the  Sabbath  in  a joyous 
manner  shall  have  all  the  desires  of  his  heart  ful- 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS . 


273 


filled.”  And  how — -thus  the  Talmud  continues  to 
ask  — is  the  Sabbath  to  be  kept  in  a joyous  manner? 
To  which  question  one  of  the  rabbis  answers,  “ By 
having  better  meals  than  usually,  and  the  like.”  Let 
it  also  be  added  here  that  it  was  a law  antedating  the 
rise  of  Christianity,  to  open  the  festive  celebration  of 
the  Sabbath  on  Friday  evenings  by  Kiddush  ; that  is, 
by  praising  God,  the  giver  of  all  good  things,  over  a 
cup  of  wine,  and  by  the  drinking  of  wine  during  the 
Sabbath  meals  ; and  every  one  of  the  family  partook 
of  this  wine-drinking.  Without  doubt,  this  law  con- 
cerning Kiddush  was  piously  observed  by  Jesus  and 
his  friends  ; as  he  whom  millions  of  our  Christian 
brethren  adore  as  their  “ Master,”  and  as  the  divine 
founder  of  their  religion,  himself  declared  that  he 
had  not  come  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfil  it.  The 
law  just  mentioned  is  still  strictly  observed  among 
so-called  orthodox  Jews,  by  those  who  have  the 
means  to  do  so. 

Sad  and  serious  contemplations  were  not  permitted 
on  the  Sabbath,  nor  fasting,  mourning,  nor  supplica- 
tions in  behalf  of  sufferers.  While  the  reading  and 
study  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  and  other  good  books 
was  certainly  highly  recommended,  the  reading  of 
certain  parts  of  them,  as,  for  example,  the  Lamen- 
tations of  Jeremiah,  and  other  portions  of  a similar 
character,  was  forbidden.  For  no  gloom  should  fill 
the  heart  of  the  Jew  on  the  Sabbath,  and  no  other 
sentiment  should  dwell  therein  than  pure  joy.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  precepts  of  Judaism  laid  great 
stress  upon  the  sacred  duty  of  visiting  the  sick  and 
consoling  the  mourner.  While  such  acts  of  kindness, 
of  sympathy,  and  mercy  were  not  to  be  neglected  on 
the  Sabbath  Day  on  account  of  the  Sabbath,  yet  the 


274 


SUNDAY  REST. 


Sabbath  joy  should  be  disturbed  thereby  as  little  as 
possible.  Thus,  when  one  visited  on  the  Sabbath  a 
sick  person,  he  had  to  refrain  from  the  common 
methods  of  consolation,  and  to  say  to  the  sick  one 
and  his  friends,  “ It  is  Sabbath  to-day,  and  it  is  not 
right  that  on  this  day  we  should  send  up  to  God  our 
supplications  to  restore  the  suffering  brother ; but 
health  and  strength,  let  us  hope,  will  speedily  come, 
and  you  — you  keep  your  Sabbath  in  peace.”  Simi- 
lar words  were  spoken  on  the  Sabbath  to  those  who 
were  in  mourning  for  a dear  departed  one. 

Much  more  could  be  said  on  this  subject.  One 
thought,  however,  I cannot  refrain  from  expressing 
before  I close.  We  live,  God  be  praised ! in  the 
freest  land  in  the  world, — in  the  United  States  of 
America,  where  Church  and  State  are  entirely  sep- 
arated, and  where  every  one  can  follow  the  dictates 
of  his  own  conscience  and  the  precepts  of  his  own 
religion,  so  long  as  he  does  not  thereby  infringe 
upon  the  rights  and  privileges  of  his  neighbor.  Let, 
now,  the  Jew  who  desires  to  keep  his  Sabbath  in  his 
own  way  have  the  undisturbed  right  to  keep  it  when 
and  how  he  wishes.  And  let  no  sacrilegious  hand 
attempt  to  attack  the  sanctuary  of  American  free- 
dom. May  the  dark  day  never  come  on  which  it 
shall  be  decreed  by  any  legislative  or  executive 
power  in  America  that  one  certain  day  for  keeping 
the  Sabbath,  and  one  certain  manner  of  keeping  it, 
be  forced  upon  unwilling  minorities  ! The  Sabbath 
is  a grand  and  sacred  institution,  — we  all  agree  to 
that.  But  its  celebration  must  be  left  to  the  individ- 
ual; this  belongs  to  the  category  of  his  eternal  and 
inalienable  rights.  American  liberty,  I venture  to 
say,  is  a still  grander  and  a still  holier  institution, 


RELIGIOUS  RELATIONS. 


275 


and  the  maintenance  of  it  is  entrusted  to  each  and 
every  American  citizen.  We  praise  the  weekly  Sab- 
bath; we  are  sure  that  from  it  immense  blessings  will 
spring  forth.  Blessings  for  the  mental  and  for  the 
moral  life  of  individuals,  of  families,  and  of  society 
at  large.  But  what  the  law  and  statutes  enacted  or 
to  be  enacted  by  the  legislative  authorities  of  our 
American  States  can  do  for  the  Sabbath  is  this,  and 
only  this  : They  can  protect,  and  ought  to  protect, 
every  congregation  assembled  on  their  Sabbath  for 
divine  worship  in  a church,  or  a chapel,  or  a syna- 
gogue, or  a mosque,  or  any  other  place,  against  being 
disturbed  in  their  worship  ; and  they  can  guarantee, 
and  ought  to  guarantee,  to  each  person  in  our  land, 
be  he  the  poorest  laborer,  one  day  of  perfect  rest  in 
each  week  of  seven  consecutive  days.  All  further 
Sabbath  legislation  by  the  States,  or  the  United 
States,  is  unnecessary,  and  would  be  un-American. 
But  let  us,  let  all  the  friends  of  the  great  and  sacred 
Sabbath  institution,  trust  in  the  power  of  public 
opinion.  Relying  upon  this  great  power,  and  upon 
the  divine  blessings  of  our  heavenly  Father,  we  can 
all  look  hopefully  towards  the  future,  and  can  rest 
assured  that  the  land  in  all  times  to  come  will  have  a 
Sabbath,  — a real,  genuine  Sabbath. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


THE  DANGERS  WHICH  THREATEN  THE  SUNDAY  REST. 
Rev.  Wm.  R.  Huntington,  D.D.,  Rector  Grace  Church , New 
York . 

RECENT  PROGRESS  IN  SECURING  SUNDAY  REST  ON  THE 
CONTINENT  OF  EUROPE.  E.  Deluz,  Secretary  of  the  Inter- 
national Federation  for  Sunday  Observance , Geneva,  Switzerland. 

PRESENT  ASPECTS  OF  THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION  IN  GREAT 
BRITAIN.  C.  Hill,  Secretary  Workingmen' s Lord's  Day  Rest 
Association , London,  England. 

WHAT  IS  SUNDAY  WORTH  ? Joseph  Cook,  LL.D.,  Boston, 
Mass. 

SUNDAY  FOR  ALL.  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Ireland,  St.  Paul, 
Minn. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


THE  DANGERS  WHICH  THREATEN  THE  REST  DAY. 
REV.  WM.  R.  HUNTINGTON,  D.D. 

HE  question,  How  shall  we  keep  Sunday  ? is  fast 


1 acquiring  a secondary  signification.  How  to 
“keep”  the  day  in  the  sense  of  sanctifying  it  was 
the  old  thought;  how  to  “keep”  the  day  in  the 
sense  of  holding  on  to  it  is  the  new.  Once  the  fear 
was  that  Sunday  might  be  broken  ; now  the  anxiety 
is  lest  it  may  be  lost.  In  a word,  we  are  threatened 
with  the  forfeiture  of  a costly  franchise,  the  annul- 
ment of  an  ancient  charter,  and  it  is  high  time  that 
we  bestir  ourselves. 

Waiving,  for  the  moment,  the  question  at  issue 
between  those  who  affirm  and  those  who  deny  that  a 
distinctively  divine  sanction  attaches  to  the  observ- 
ance of  one  day  in  seven,  I desire  to  emphasize  the 
point  that  here  in  the  United  States,  from  time  im- 
memorial, the  first  day  of  the  week  has,  as  a matter 
of  fact,  been  treated  both  by  law  and  custom  differ- 
ently from  the  other  six. 

On  this  particular  day  certain  things,  permissible 
at  any  other  time,  are,  presumably  at  least,  out  of 
order.  The  range  of  the  restriction  varies  according 
to  the  special  laws  and  usages  of  the  several  States  ; 


28o 


SUNDA  Y REST 


but,  on  the  whole,  there  is  sufficient  agreement  to 
warrant  one  in  asserting  that  American  civilization 
treats  Sunday  as  a day  distinctive  and  peculiar. 

When  we  inquire  as  to  how  this  state  of  things 
came  about,  we  learn  that  Sunday  observance  is  a 
usage  which  the  people  who  settled  this  country 
brought  with  them  from  Europe  under  stress,  as 
they  conceived,  of  an  ethical  obligation.  They  had 
been  taught,  in  the  homes  from  which  they  came, 
that  to  hedge  about  one  day  in  seven  with  a certain 
amount  of  restriction  was  a duty  owed  to  Almighty 
God  ; and,  desiring  to  found  the  State  here  upon  the 
established  principles  of  morality  and  good  order, 
they  tacitly  agreed  that  among  the  social  adjust- 
ments of  the  New  World  the  observance  of  Sunday 
should  have  a recognized  place.  Thanks  to  this 
resolve  of  theirs,  the  institute  known  as  the  Lord’s 
Day  even  yet  lifts  itself  in  our  social  landscape  like 
a great  shade-tree  in  an  open  field.  Some  are  saying, 
“It  is  less  branchy  than  it  used  to  be,  and  not  so  ser- 
viceable for  shelter  ; ” others,  “ Lo,  it  is  rotten  at  the 
core  and  will  tumble  soon  ; ” still  others,  “ It  is  a blot 
against  the  sky  ; it  spoils  our  prospect : cut  it  down  ; ” 
but  nobody  can  say  that  the  tree  is  not  there,  since 
for  good  or  evil,  whether  men  bless  or  curse,  at  pres- 
ent it  stands  up  against  the  sky  tough  and  stubborn: 
we  still  have  a Rest  Day. 

But  let  us  study  the  assault.  I make  a point  of 
distinguishing  between  those  influences  which  si- 
lently and  unnoticed  have  now  for  a long  while  been 
at  work  undermining  the  immunities  of  Sunday,  and 
certain  other  forces  of  which  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  they  are  avowedly  and  aggressively  hostile. 
Against  the  former  there  is  little  or  no  protection ; 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


28l 


against  the  latter  we  may  guard  ourselves  if  we 
will. 

Probably  the  most  efficient  of  the  underground 
solvents  of  Sunday  observance  has  been  the  tacit 
understanding,  so  widely  spread  among  our  people  as 
to  be  reckoned  an  “ American  doctrine,”  that  the 
State  has  no  business  to  meddle  with  religion, 
whether  to  mar  or  to  mend.  As  a feature  of  the 
Hebrew  civilization  the  Sabbath  had  the  sanction  of 
statute  law.  Gradually  the  early  Christians  shifted 
their  recognition  of  one  day  in  seven  from  the  end 
of  the  week  to  the  beginning  of  it ; but  for  a good 
three  hundred  years  they  had  no  backing  from  civil 
government  in  their  effort  to  secure  for  the  time 
thus  segregated  the  necessary  exemptions. 

Finally  there  came  Constantine’s  famous  decree 
enjoining  throughout  the  empire  rest  from  labor  on 
“the  venerable  day  of  the  Sun,”  a rescript  far  from 
stringent  in  its  terms,  and  only  moderately  Christian 
in  its  tenor,  but  noteworthy,  all  the  same,  as  indicat- 
ing the  State’s  readiness  to  lend  the  new  religion 
a helping  hand.  Sunday  laws,  so-called,  are  the 
progeny  partly  of  the  Decalogue  and  partly  of  this 
utterance  of  Caesar  ; but  when  our  people  decided  to 
put  into  their  Constitution  the  words  “ Congress 
shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,”  they,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  gave 
warning  to  the  Christian  Church  within  the  borders 
of  what  had  been  the  Colonies,  that  from  that  time 
forth  it  must  protect  its  immunities  as  best  it  could. 
That  this  wise  pronouncement  was  not  designed  to 
work  injury  to  Christian  usages,  least  of  all  to  strike 
a blow  at  Sunday,  is  sufficiently  evidenced  both  by 
the  words  which  immediately  follow  it  in  the  Consti- 


282 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


tution,  and  also  by  the  fact  that  in  all  branches  of 
the  public  service  the  United  States  Government  has 
from  the  beginning  recognized  and  safeguarded  the 
day. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  natural  that  so  marked  a dis- 
sidence  on  the  part  of  the  Republic  from  the  at- 
titude which  Christian  nations  had  for  centuries 
maintained  toward  the  Church,  should  tell  against 
anything  and  everything  in  the  legislation  of  the 
several  States  that  so  much  as  seemed  to  suggest 
the  statutory  protection,  in  the  name  of  religion,  of 
one  day  in  seven.  And  such  has  been  the  fact. 

Our  Sunday  laws  have  unquestionably  been  weak- 
ened, as  respects  the  enforcement  of  them,  by  the 
general  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  people  as  a 
whole  to  discountenance  anything  like  a State  pat- 
ronage of  religion. 

Another  unnoticed  menace  to  the  Sunday  rest  lies 
in  the  startling  invasion  of  human  life  accomplished 
by  machinery  during  the  last  half-century.  The 
more  complicated  the  wheel-work  of  our  civilization 
becomes,  the  more  difficult  it  is,  for  a temporary  pur- 
pose, to  bank  the  fires,  or  put  on  the  brakes,  or  shift 
the  belting  to  the  loose  pulley.  Hence  a tendency 
to  let  Sunday  become  as  noisy  a day  as  any  of  the 
other  six,  a result  not  indeed  necessarily  destructive 
of  religion,  but  certainly,  so  far  as  public  worship 
goes,  prohibitory  of '“the  free  exercise  thereof/’ 

It  is  true  that  this  mechanical  breaking  of  the 
peace  of  Sunday  is  almost  wholly  confined  to  cities  ; 
but  when  it  is  remembered  how  rapidly  our  popula- 
tion is  becoming  an  urban  one,  this  thought  carries 
slender  reassurance. 

A third  of  these  comparatively  unnoticed  but  most 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


283 


efficient  causes  tending  to  the  detriment  of  the  Rest 
Day,  and  the  last  of  them  which  I shall  mention,  is 
the  difference  of  opinion  which  prevails  among  the 
friends  of  Sunday  with  respect  to  the  true  sanc- 
tion of  the  observance.  Not  to  mention  the  schism 
'caused  by  the  synagogue  and  by  that  one  of  the 
lesser  denominations  of  Christians  which  maintains 
that  seventhness,  in  contrast  with  firstness,  is  of  the 
essence  of  the  observance,  — the  differences  of  opin- 
ion even  among  those  who  are  bent  on  upholding 
Sunday  as  it  is  are  neither  few  nor  inconsiderable. 

Time  does  not  allow  of  my  drawing  out  these  diver- 
gences, but  I should  be  justly  chargeable  with  a lack 
of  frankness  were  I to  pass  them  by  unmentioned. 
The  familiar  phrases,  “a  Continental  Sunday,”  “a 
Scotch  Sabbath,”  and  “an  English  Lord’s  Day,” 
sufficiently  indicate  what  they  are  ; and  to  pretend 
that  this  dissonance  has  had,  is  having,  and  can  have 
no  unfavorable  effect  upon  the  fortunes  of  the  weekly 
rest  as  a possession  of  the  American  people  is  vain. 

So  much  for  the  undermining  influences.  What 
of  the  open  attack  above  ground  ? This  comes 
chiefly  from  three  sources,  — from  the  pleasure-lov- 
ers, from  the  money-getters,  and  from  the  avowed 
enemies  of  religion,  more  particularly  of  Christian 
religion. 

The  argument  of  the  pleasure-lovers  may  be  better 
stated  in  substantives  than  by  propositions.  The 
Sunday  newspaper,  base-ball,  lawn-tennis,  the  bicy- 
cle, these  are  the  strong  reasons,  on  the  ground  of 
which  a certain  portion  of  our  people,  and  no  incon- 
siderable portion,  are  willing  to  see  Sunday  go  to 
wreck. 

It  will  last  our  time,  for  our  purposes,  they  argue  ; 


284 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


what  do  we  care  whether  our  great-grandchildren 
have  any  such  protected  day  or  not  ? Against  this 
menace  the  ministers  of  religion  are  comparatively 
powerless.  The  fathers  and  mothers  of  families  and 
the  social  leaders  are  the  ones  who  really  hold  the 
reins.  Only  in  so  far  as  the  pulpit  reaches  these  can 
it  hope  to  accomplish  much  towards  saving  Sunday 
observance  from  degenerating  into  a romp.  Sunday 
dinner-parties,  Sunday  rehearsals,  and  Sunday  games 
must  be  declared,  by  the  women  who  rule  society, 
bad  form. 

Back  of  pleasure-seekers  are  the  people  who  coin 
money  by  serving  as  purveyors  of  the  material  of 
pleasure.  While  “ Labor”  is  having  its  Sunday  pic- 
nic, certain  employers  of  labor  are  busy  establishing 
precedents  in  favor  of  uninterrupted  toil,  which  in 
due  time  will  render  holiday-making  of  any  sort  a 
difficult  affair  for  all  save  the  very  well-to-do.  To 
have  secured  the  formal  recognition  of  one  solitary 
“ Labor  Day”  will  seem  to  the  wage-earners  a small 
achievement  when  they  shall  have  forfeited,  through 
their  own  weak  acquiescence,  fifty-two  days  of  rest. 

We  hear  much  of  the  poor  clerk’s  need  of  an  out- 
ing ; yes,  that  is  all  very  well ; but  sweep  away  every 
vestige  of  a law  prohibitory  of  servile  labor  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  and  where,  twenty  years  hence, 
will  you  find  the  poor  clerk  ? — in  the  public  library, 
poring  over  one  or  another  of  the  best  hundred 
books  ? in  the  Art  Museum,  studying  Etruscan  pot- 
tery and  arrow-head  inscriptions  ? in  the  park,  trun- 
dling a perambulator  and  catching  whiffs  of  fragrance 
from  clover-blossoms  and  haycocks  ? no,  not  there ; 
but  precisely  where  many  an  avaricious  employer 
would  gladly  see  him  to-day,  — behind  the  counter. 


MISCELLANEOUS . 


285 


If  the  whole  power  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  the 
Middle  Ages  barely  sufficed  to  keep  in  force  that 
beautiful  usage  known  as  the  “ Truce  of  God,”  is  it 
likely  that  the  disrupted  Christianity  of  the  United 
States  will  ever  be  able  to  win  back  a once  forfeited 
Sunday  ? 

The  burning  thirst  for  money  is  perhaps  in  our 
national  character  a stronger  instinct  than  that  lust 
of  blood  ; the  tiger  in  our  modern  veins  is  giving 
place  to  the  fox.  We  have  a truce  of  God  at  present 
which,  in  a measure,  protects  all  of  us  alike  from  the 
stern  whip  of  the  taskmaster  — what  fools  we  shall 
be  if  we  suffer  its  sanctions  to  be  dissolved ! 

Mingled  in  with  the  pleasure-seekers  and  the 
money-getters  are  those  to  whom  Sunday  is  an 
offence  most  of  all  because  it  smacks  of  religion. 
They  are  content,  they  say,  to  have  the  State  main- 
tain a fairly  severe  moral  standard,  for  that  is  essen- 
tial to  public  decency  and  public  safety  ; but  with 
ordinances  of  religion,  our  legislation  should  have 
nothing  to  do  : whatever  else  we  may  fail  of  being, 
“ secular,”  as  good  Americans,  we  are  bound  to  be. 
But  is  “ secular  morality”  a thing  that  can  be  had 
for  the  asking  ? There  are  moralities  and  moralities ; 
and  every  nation  must  decide  which  of  many  its  own 
shall  be. 

Mohammedan  morality  is  one  thing;  Buddhist  mo- 
rality is  another ; Confucian  morality  is  another ; 
Christian  morality  is  yet  another.  We  cannot  jum- 
ble them  together  and  say  that  we  will  live  by  the 
aggregate  of  the  four,  any  more  than  we  can  insist 
on  having  our  house  built  in  Gothic,  classic,  and  pah 
ladian  architecture  all  at  once;  — choose  we  must. 
Practically,  however,  the  thing  has  been  done  for  us. 


286 


SUNDAY  REST, 


The  United  States  counts  among  the  Christian  na- 
tions of  the  world ; and  what  that  means  is  that 
down  underneath  our  Constitution  and  our  laws  lies 
bedded  the  Christian  conception  of  what  human  life 
ought  to  be.  The  Ten  Words  of  Sinai,  as  interpreted 
by  the  teaching  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  make  the 
backbone  of  Christian  ethics  ; and  in  the  Ten  Words 
the  law  of  periodic  rest  has  a place  just  as  emphatic 
as  the  law  of  monogamy  or  the  law  of  property. 
Emerson  was  no  apologist  for  Christianity,  but  he 
spoke  true  when  he  said  of  Sunday,  “it  is  the  core 
of  our  civilization. ” 

These,  then,  that  I have  named  are  the  dangers 
that  menace  the  Rest  Day  in  America.  Some  will 
think  that  I have  exaggerated  them,  and  will  account 
my  utterance  the  message  of  the  croaker,  the  song 
of  the  alarmist,  the  wail  of  a clerical  Cassandra. 
But  really  nothing  has  been  further  from  my  mind 
than  to  suggest  discouragement.  No  people  is  more 
rich  in  the  genius  of  inventiveness  than  ours  ; and 
when  once  a danger  is  discerned,  schemes  of  defence 
are  invariably  forthcoming.  What  is  wanted  is  a 
platform  broad  enough  for  all  who  believe  that  a 
protected  Rest  Day,  however  originated  and  by  what- 
ever means  thus  far  transmitted,  is  a possession  too 
good  to  be  lost. 

Simply  as  patriots  we  have  much  at  stake.  The 
philosophy  of  federal  government  presupposes  a cer- 
tain magnetism  of  sympathy  pervading  and  knitting 
together  all  the  members  of  the  one  body.  A fag- 
ot of  sticks  tied  together  by  a single  cord,  labelled 
“common  interest,”  is  a most  unworthy  emblem  of 
our  American  national  life.  For  if  that  be  a true 
symbolism,  you  have  only  to  draw  your  knife-edge 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


287 


across  the  slender  strand  of  selfishness;  you  have 
only  to  prove  to  the  East  that  it  must  have  protec- 
tion, and  to  the  West  that  it  must  have  free-trade, 
and  your  fagot  tumbles  into  confusion  in  a moment. 
National  life,  federal  unity,  means  more  than  this; 
as,  at  the  cost  of  rivers  of  blood,  our  people  have 
been  brave  to  prove. 

And  yet  what  are  the  instrumentalities  upon  which 
we  must  rely  to  keep  up  the  common  consciousness 
of  the  national  unity  ? How  are  we  to  be  constantly 
witnessing  to  the  generations  as  they  successively 
appear  upon  the  scene  that  we  are  indeed  a nation, 
and  not  a mere  swarm  of  whites  and  blacks  ? 

The  task  of  keeping  together  a population  so 
numerous,  so  varied,  so  widely  scattered  as  our  own, 
is  one  of  unexampled  difficulty.  To  perform  it  suc- 
cessfully we  need  every  help  we  can  possibly  lay 
hands  on.  Unquestionably,  material  and  mechanical 
agencies  can  do  much.  Railroads  and  telegraphs 
and  great  river  bridges  are  potent  instrumentalities 
in  knitting  the  country  into  oneness.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  of  their  value  in  this  respect.  And  yet 
passion  is  stronger  than  iron  ; and  there  are  those  of 
us  who  remember  to  have  seen  railroads  torn  up, 
telegraph  wires  cut,  and  costly  bridges  burned,  all 
under  stress  of  feeling.  Are  there,  then,  no  other 
possible  bonds  of  national  unity  than  these  perish- 
able things?  Yes  ; there  is  the  appeal  to  sentiment, 
— and  a very  strong  appeal  it  is. 

For  a hundred  years  the  memory  of  the  common 
struggle  against  British  tyranny  did  service  as  a 
cement  of  that  sort.  Varied  as  were  the  traditions 
of  the  several  colonies,  and  diverse  as,  in  many  re- 
spects, their  interests  seemed,  they  had  made  com- 


288 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


mon  cause  against  the  one  enemy  ; and  in  looking 
back  to  this  conspicuous  fact  the  children  of  the 
colonists  for  a hundred  years  found  fuel  for  the  flame 
of  patriotism.  And  what  was  one  of  the  most  ser- 
viceable means  devised  for  giving  perpetuity  and 
strength  to  this  sentiment?  It  was  nothing  else 
than  the  appointment  of  a day  to  be  the  continually 
recurring  memorial  of  the  nation’s  birth. 

A like  instinct  moved  the  President  of  the  United 
States  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  to  institute  a 
national  Thanksgiving  Day.  The  idea  was,  and  is, 
that  when  a whole  people  are  keeping  a common  ob- 
servance, a certain  measure  of  toughness  is  imparted 
to  the  ligaments  that  make  the  people  one  body. 
Just  what  and  how  great  the  increase  of  cohesive- 
ness due  to  such  causes  may  be,  no  one  would  be 
rash  enough  to  say ; but  that  there  is,  first  or  last, 
a real  drawing  together  of  the  fibre  of  the  nation’s 
life  consequent  upon  such  observances  few  would 
deny.  Now,  in  the  Sunday  we  have  not  a rare  and 
easily  forgotten,  but  a frequently  and  constantly  re- 
curring, reminder  of  the  fact  that,  as  a people,  we  do 
still  believe  in  one  Lord  God  Almighty.  Differ  as 
we  may,  denominationally  and  otherwise,  we  can  all 
of  us  still  join  in  the  invocation,  “ Our  Father.” 
As  a nation  we  hold  not  to  gods  many  or  lords 
many,  but  to  the  “ One  Eternal,  Immortal,  Invisi- 
ble.” Such  a faith  manv  of  us  believe  to  be  the 

j 

very  strongest,  and  almost  all  of  us  believe  to  be  one 
of  the  strongest,  of  the  ties  that  are  likely  to  make 
a federal  union  permanent.  Sunday,  as  the  outward 
sign  and  token,  the  visible  emblem  and  pledge,  of 
this  underlying  faith  of  the  people  in  the  one  God, 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  unspeakably  precious  in  the 


MISCELLANEOUS . 


289 


eye  of  a far-seeing  statesman,  whether  he  be  per- 
sonally Jew,  Turk,  or  Christian. 

So,  then,  let  us  be  hopeful.  Not  seldom  in  this 
land  of  universal  suffrage  the  “ common-sense  of 
most  ” has  proved  our  safety.  God  can  convert  a 
menace  into  a shield  ; and  so  far  from  fearing  that 
our  Sunday  is  destined  to  be  swamped  by  some  great 
in-rushing  tide  of  popular  hostility,  I do  verily  be- 
lieve that,  in  our  case,  as  in  the  case  of  God’s  people 
of  old  time,  the  very  waters  that  threaten  our  de- 
struction will  at  the  critical  moment  become  unto  us 
a wall,  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  and  Israel 
see  the  Egyptians  dead  upon  the  seashore. 


RECENT  PROGRESS  OF  THE  SUNDAY  REST  QUESTION 
IN  EUROPE. 


E . DELUZ. 


HE  International  Federation  for  Sunday  observ- 


1 ance,  the  seat  of  which  is  at  Geneva,  Switzer- 
land, has  been  the  principal  agent  in  the  movement 
within  recent  years  for  the  promotion  of  the  Sunday 
rest  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  The  progress  of 
the  movement  at  first  and  for  several  years  was  slow, 
attracting  but  little  attention  outside  of  the  ranks 
of  Christian  people  who  deplored  the  decay  into 
which  the  Sunday  observance  had  fallen,  and  of  the 


290 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


groups  of  earnest  labor-reformers  who  painfully  felt 
the  pressure  of  the  uninterrupted  toil  to  which  the 
majority  of  working-people  were  doomed.  The  lead- 
ing politicians  regarded  it  merely  as  a troublesome 
religious  question  to  be  ignored.  In  1869  the  Grand 
Council  at  Geneva,  and  in  1880  the  French  Parlia- 
ment, repealed  with  slight  consideration,  certain  laws 
with  reference  to  Sunday  which  it  would  have  been 
better  to  revise. 

It  was  not  till  two  important  events  had  taken 
place  that  the  question  of  Sunday  rest  emerged  from 
the  neglect  in  which  it  lay  in  several  European  coun- 
tries, and  at  last  compelled  the  attention  of  the 
leaders  of  public  sentiment. 

The  first  of  these  events  was  the  International 
Congress  on  Weekly  Rest  held  in  connection  with 
the  Paris  Exposition,  September  24-27,  1889.  This 
Congress,  initiated  by  the  Committee  of  the  Inter- 
national Federation  with  the  aid  of  the  French 
Society  for  Sunday  Observance,  was  held  under  the 
authorization  of  the  French  Government.  It  brought 
the  cause  of  Sunday  rest  at  once  to  public  notice 
and  compelled  its  discussion  by  the  French  political 
press.  From  the  French  press,  the  discussion  ex- 
tended to  the  journals  of  other  countries,  and  so  at 
last  the  Sunday  rest  question  awoke  to  new  life. 
But  there  was  need  that  the  principles  of  Sunday 
rest  should  be  proclaimed  from  a still  more  influen- 
tial platform  than  that  of  the  Congress  of  Paris. 

The  second  event  was  the  International  Labor 
Conference  convened  at  Berlin,  March  15th  to  30th, 
1890,  by  the  German  Emperor,  William  II.  In  this 
conference,  in  which  the  representatives  of  twelve 
European  states  took  part,  Sunday  rest  occupied  the 


MISCELLANEOUS . 


291 


chief  place  on  the  programme.  Resolutions  were 
adopted,  recognizing  not  only  the  general  usefulness 
of  Sunday  rest,  but  its  absolute  necessity  for  work- 
ing-people of  all  ages.  The  discussions  by  the  Con- 
ference and  in  the  public  journals  of  Europe  brought 
the  question  before  the  Parliaments  of  the  various 
states  represented.  In  the  country  where  the  strong- 
est opponent  of  Sunday  rest,  Prince  Bismarck,  had 
many  a time  insisted  that  if  it  w£re  put  into  prac- 
tice the  industry  of  the  nation  would  be  ruined, 
and  that,  in  order  to  secure  it,  the  workman  would 
have  to  lose  a seventh  of  his  earnings,  it  was  de- 
clared by  the  highest  and  best  authority,  that  on 
physical  and  moral,  as  well  as  economic  grounds,  the 
Sunday  rest  should  be  secured  by  law  to  all  working- 
people,  both  men  and  women. 

This,  briefly,  is  the  way  in  which  the  Sunday  prop- 
aganda, started  at  Geneva  in  1861,  has  extended 
with  more  or  less  efficiency  to  the  different  countries 
of  Europe. 

Let  us  glance  rapidly  at  what  has  recently  been 
done  in  the  several  countries  for  the  protection  of 
Sunday  rest. 

Germany.  The  principles  of  the  Berlin  Confer- 
ence were  practically  applied  by  the  new  Sunday  law 
of  June  1,  1891,  which  went  into  effect,  so  far  as 
concerns  trade,  on  July  1,  1892.  In  manufactures 
it  is  to  be  applied  later  on,  the  regulations  for  which 
are  now  being  prepared. 

This  law  provides  in  general  that  clerks,  appren- 
tices, and  others  employed  in  trade,  should  not  be 
made  to  work  more  than  five  hours  on  Sundays  and 
holidays,  except  as  this  provision  may  be  modified 


292 


SUNDAY  REST. 


by  special  cases.1  Hawking  of  goods  is  not  permitted 
on  Sunday.  Work  is  forbidden  on  Sundays  in  mines, 
manufactories,  workshops,  tile  works,  dockyards,  and 
building  yards.  Shops  must  be  closed  during  the 
hours  of  public  worship  ; exception  is  made  in  the 
case  of  bakers,  butchers,  beer-sellers,  etc.,  and  for 
certain  kinds  of  work  regarded  as  necessary.  The 
law  is  by  no  means  severe  or  excessive ; and  while 
not  regarded  as  wholly  satisfactory,  as  it  leaves  em- 
ployees in  shops  five  hours'  work  on  Sunday,  it  is 
a great  advance  on  the  previous  condition  of  things. 

This  law  awakened  some  opposition  in  the  north 
of  Germany,  where  the  trade  customs  left  more  to  be 
desired  than  in  the  south  ; but  the  friends  of  the  law 
far  outnumber  its  adversaries, — workmen,  clerks, 
labor-leaders,  concur  with  philanthropists  in  desiring 
its  strict  application.  In  some  towns  numerous 
shopkeepers  have  taken  advantage  of  the  law  to 
close  their  shops  on  Sunday  for  the  whole  day,  to 
the  great  relief  of  their  employees.  Circumstances 
point  to  further  progress  in  the  right  direction.  In 
the  German  postal  service  there  are  but  one  or  two 
deliveries  on  . Sunday.  On  the  railways  the  freight 
depots  are  closed  on  Sunday;  and,  in  order  that  the 
employees  may  be  free  one  Sunday  out  of  three  or 
four,  the  freight  traffic  on  that  day  is  suspended  on 
certain  of  the  lines. 

Austria.  The  law  of  June  21,  1884,  forbids,  in  a 
general  way,  all  work  in  the  mines  on  Sundays. 
Another  law  of  March,  1885,  forbids  work  in  general 

1 Very  recently  the  head  of  a large  commercial  house  of  Berlin, 
which  employs  one  hundred  and  twenty  clerks,  was  sentenced  to  pay  a 
fine  of  twelve  hundred  marks  for  having  made  them  work  too  long  on 
Sunday. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


293 


in  shops  and  factories,  but  subsequent  regulations 
made  a large  number  of  exceptions  in  view  of  the 
customs  of  the  people.  So  that  on  Sunday  morning 
at  Vienna  there  is  little  to  show  that  the  day  is  dif- 
ferent from  other  days.  It  is  only  in  the  afternoon 
that  the  employees  get  rest.  Except  in  cases  of 
necessity,  house-building  and  several  other  kinds  of 
work,  formerly  carried  on  on  Sunday,  are  now  dis- 
continued. Newspapers  are  no  longer  issued  on 
Sunday  evening  or  Monday  morning  ; and  there  has 
been  much  improvement  in  comparison  with  the  pre- 
vious condition  of  things.  There  are  only  two  deliv- 
eries of  letters  at  most  on  Sundays ; the  freight 
depots  are  closed,  and  it  is  proposed  to  diminish  the 
number  t)f  freight  trains. 

Hungary.  A Sunday  rest  law  was  passed  in  1868, 
but  never  carried  out.  Through  the  example  of 
Austria,  a special  law  was  enacted  April  9,  1891, 
which  provides  that  persons  employed  in  trade  or 
factories  generally  should  not  work  on  Sunday  ; but, 
as  in  the  case  of  Austria,  a considerable  number  of 
exceptions  are  allowed  on  account  of  the  customs  of 
the  people.  Yet  the  law  is  a great  advance,  and  will 
prepare  the  way  for  future  reforms.  The  association 
of  newspaper  editors  and  printers  has  maintained 
a severe  struggle  to  bring  to  an  end  the  printing 
of  newspapers  on  Sunday.  On  Feb.  13,  1892,  the 
Minister  of  Public  Works  made  a noble  appeal  to 
all  the  religious  denominations  for  their  aid  in  carry- 
ing out  the  moral  principle  of  the  law,  and  in  organ- 
izing lectures  of  a practical  description  on  Sunday 
afternoon  for  workmen. 

Belgium.  The  Railway  Congress,  held  at  Brussels 


294 


SUNDAY  EEST. 


in  1885,  discussed  the  subject  of  Sunday  rest  for  rail- 
way employees,  and  adopted  resolutions  in  favor  of 
giving  them  days  of  rest  periodically,  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  on  Sunday.  The  Belgian  government  im- 
mediately undertook  to  apply  these  resolutions,  and 
to  permit  persons  in  public  employment,  especially 
on  the  railways,  to  rest  on  Sunday.  By  1889  between 
seven  and  eight  hundred  freight  trains,  which  before 
had  run  on  Sunday,  were  discontinued,  and  the  sta- 
tion and  freight  agents  enjoyed  an  average  of  thirty 
days’  rest  a year,  either  on  Sundays  or  during  the 
week  ; the  postman  and  telegraph  messengers  had 
two  days’  rest  a month.  The  freight  depots  are  now 
closed  on  Sunday ; fifteen  hundred  freight  trains  are 
stopped  on  that  day ; thousands  of  railway  porters 
have  one  Sunday  for  rest  out  of  two  or  three.  All 
of  them  get  two  hours  free  on  every  Sunday  to  go 
to  church  if  they  wish.  Postmen  are  free  every 
Sunday.  There  are  half  as  many  letter  deliveries 
’on  Sunday  as  on  other  days,  but  these  are  made  by 
persons  specially  engaged  for  that  purpose.  The 
hours  during  which  the  post  and  telegraph  offices  are 
open  on  Sunday  are  shortened ; government  con- 
tracts for  work  exclude  Sundays,  except  in  cases  of 
great  necessity.  A short  time  since  a special  post- 
age stamp  was  brought  out,  attached  to  which  is  a 
coupon,  that  may  be  removed,  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion, “Not  to  be  delivered  on  Sunday.”  Letters  and 
parcels  bearing  these  stamps  are  not  delivered  on 
that  day.  The  issue  of  these  stamps  awakened  vio- 
lent discussion  in  the  newspapers,  and  attracted  the 
attention  of  workingmen  to  the  question  of  Sunday 
rest,  of  which  most  of  them  are  deprived.  Since 
then  the  printers,  several  classes  of  persons  em- 


MISCELLANE  O US. 


295 


ployed  in  commerce,  and  even  the  drug  stores,  have 
begun  to  make  arrangements  to  have  their  Sundays 
free.  A league  has  recently  been  formed  to  promote 
Sunday  rest,  and,  in  the  absence  of  a law  on  the  sub- 
ject, is  doing  what  it  can  to  bring  about  a change  in 
the  customs  of  trade  and  manufactures  with  respect 
to  Sunday. 

Denmark.  In  1884  the  International  Federation 
sent  a delegation  to  Copenhagen  to  awaken  public 
interest  in  the  cause  of  Sunday  rest.  It  met  with 
great  success.  An  influential  Danish  committee  was 
organized,  at  the  head  of  which  is  Count  A.  de  Moltke. 
Since  1889  there  is  but  one  delivery  of  letters  on 
Sunday  in  the  towns,  and  in  the  country  there  is  no 
delivery.  April  1,  1891,  a law  was  passed  which  for- 
bids shops  to  be  open  on  Sunday  after  nine  o’clock, 
with  a few  exceptions.  Barbers  must  close  at  twelve 
o’clock.  In  workshops  and  factories  work  is  forbid- 
den on  Sunday  after  nine  o’clock  ; but  where  the 
work  is  necessarily  continued,  each  workman  is  free 
at  least  one  Sunday  out  of  two.  It  is  estimated  that 
this  law  has  liberated  at  least  100,000  Sunday  slaves. 
The  sale  of  spirituous  liquors  is  not  as  yet  placed 
under  any  restriction.  Persons  employed  on  the 
tramways  have  six  or  seven  holidays  during  the 
month. 

Spain.  The  echoes  of  the  Paris  Congress  and  the 
Berlin  Conference  have  somewhat  affected  the  work- 
ingman in  Spain,  and  petitions  have  been  presented 
to  the  government  asking  for  thirty-six  hours’  rest  a 
week.  This  was  the  origin  of  a law  proposed  in 
1891,  prohibiting  work  on  Sunday  in  factories  and 


296 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


trade  establishments  for  persons  under  eighteen  years 
of  age.  In  establishments  belonging  to  the  states, 
the  provinces,  and  the  municipalities,  Sunday  rest  is 
obligatory,  except  in  cases  of  necessity.  This  law, 
after  amendments,  was  passed  Feb.  8,  1892. 

France  has  derived  most  benefit  from  the  Congress 
of  1889.  A Popular  League  for  Sunday  Rest  was 
founded  immediately  after  the  Congress,  under  the 
presidency  of  M.  Leon  Say,  deputy,  and  has  carried 
out  with  marked  success  the  work  set  on  foot  by 
the  Congress.  The  Catholics  have  become  ardent 
friends  of  the  cause,  and,  besides  co-operating  with 
the  League,  have  organized  a similar  association. 
Special  committees  have  been  formed  in  fifteen  of 
the  principal  French  towns,  and  even  in  Corsica. 
In  different  districts  the  workingmen  and  clerks  are 
forming  themselves  into  groups  to  obtain  Sunday 
rest.  In  some  places  the  movement  has  given  rise 
to  some  disturbances,  caused  by  over-zealous  parti- 
sans. In  many  of  the  larger  towns  of  France,  and 
in  Paris,  many  shops  have  voluntarily  closed  on  Sun- 
day. The  large  establishment  of  Paris,  called  the 
Magazin  de  Louvre,  with  more  than  a thousand  em- 
ployees, not  only  closes  on  Sunday,  but  has  ceased 
to  deliver  on  Sunday  goods  bought  the  day  before. 

Through  the  influence  of  the  League,  the  govern- 
ment has  closed  its  freight  depots  after  ten  o’clock 
on  Sunday.  The  Paris-Lyons-Mediterranean  Rail- 
way Company  has  led  in  this  reform,  and  was  the  first 
to  take  steps  towards  giving  to  persons  employed  on 
railways  more  rest  on  Sunday ; for  the  situation  of 
the  railway  employees  in  this  respect  is  deplorable. 
Postal  deliveries  on  Sunday  in  Paris,  and  several 


MISCELLANE  O US. 


297 


other  of  the  larger  towns  in  the  provinces,  have  been 
reduced  by  one-half.  Petitions  have  been  presented 
to  the  General  Councils,  asking  that  fairs  and  mar- 
kets which  occurred  on  Sunday  should  be  deferred 
to  Monday,  and  in  some  instances  this  has  been 
done.  On  Feb.  16,  1892,  the  Minister  of  Public 
Works  restored  a provision  which  had  been  practi- 
cally annulled  in  1880,  forbidding  contractors  on  pub- 
lic works  to  compel  work  on  Sundays  and  holidays, 
except  in  cases  of  necessity.  A law  of  Nov.  2,  1892, 
guarantees  to  women  and  children  one  day's  rest  a 
week.  The  legislators  did  not  dare  to  use  the  ex- 
pression, Sunday  rest,  as  they  were  afraid  to  seem 
to  be  making  concession  to  the  Catholic  party.  In 
February,  1892,  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  appropri- 
ated 600,000  francs,  to  allow  the  country  postmen  one 
free  Sunday  a month.  In  the  French  army,  Sunday 
is  kept  strictly  as  a day  of  rest.  After  a struggle 
for  a couple  of  years,  the  700  workmen  in  the  Paris 
sewers  succeeded  in  1892  in  obtaining  exemption 
from  work  on  Sunday  without  any  reduction  of 
wages.  The  administrative  authorities  resisted  this 
reform  because  it  would  cost  80,000  francs. 

Holland.  The  cause  of  Sunday  rest  is  advancing 
in  this  country,  and  the  government  favors  it.  In 
1889  a law  was  passed  forbidding  Sunday  work  for 
women  and  children  in  manufactories.  No  news- 
papers are  issued  on  Sunday.  Freight  trains  are 
less  numerous,  and  the  demand  is  being  made  that 
they  should  be  wholly  discontinued.  Railway  em- 
ployees have,  almost  all,  more  or  less  rest  on  Sunday, 
but  they  are  seldom  free  for  the  whole  day.  Post- 
men and  telegraph  messengers  are  free,  in  some 


298 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


cases  for  a part,  and  others  for  the  whole,  of  Sunday. 
The  elections  do  not  take  place  on  Sunday,  and  the 
civic  guard  is  not  drilled  on  that  day.  The  Society 
for  Sunday  Rest  and  the  Society  for  Sunday  Ob- 
servance are  both  working  vigorously  to  disseminate 
information  and  to  enlighten  public  sentiment. 

Italy.  As  in  other  Latin  countries,  the  Sunday 
rest  is  far  from  being  properly  appreciated.  Spas- 
modic efforts  have  been  made  by  workmen  and  clerks 
to  obtain  Sunday  rest.  In  1883  a popular  impulse 
in  this  direction  extended  from  Turin  to  Palermo; 
but  the  reform  not  being  based  upon  the  customs 
and  convictions  of  the  people,  or  any  law,  or  any 
properly  organized  association,  the  impulse  soon  died 
away,  and  nothing  came  of  it.  A few  earnest  friends 
of  the  cause  have  sought  to  maintain  it.  The  Paris 
Congress  and  the  Berlin  Conference  did  much  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  public  press  to  the  subject.  The 
Pope  has  understood  the  advantages  of  the  Sunday 
rest  better  than  the  Italian  politicians,  and  recom- 
mended the  subject  in  his  encyclical  letter  of  June, 
1891.  A league  for  rest  on  public  holidays  was 
formed  among  the  clerks  of  Milan  in  1891,  through 
the  influence  of  which,  sustained  by  Mr.  Rossi,  sena- 
tor, some  shops  are  now  closed  on  Sunday.  At 
Bologna  and  at  Rome  some  movement  has  been 
made  in  the  same  direction  ; at  Travisa,  a Catholic 
Committee  recommended  purchasers  to  abstain  from 
shopping  on  Sunday,  in  consequence  of  which  nearly 
all  the  shops  are  closed  on  that  day.  A Congress 
of  Workingmen’s  Societies,  representing  thirty-six 
towns  of  Italy,  at  Milan,  Oct.  7,  1892,  voted  in  favor 
of  a law  making  Sunday  rest  obligatory. 


MISCELLANEOUS . 


299 


Portugal . It  is  said  that  in  both  trade  and  manu- 
factures there  is  less  work  done  on  Sunday  than  on 
other  days,  but  there  is  no  law  on  the  subject. 

Russia.  The  government  is  preparing  a law  for 
rest  on  Sunday  and  certain  official  holidays,  to  be 
applied  to  trade,  manufactures,  and  mines.  It  has 
been  approved  by  the  State  Council.  Post-offices 
are  only  open  on  Sunday  from  twelve  to  two.  The 
Minister  of  the  Interior  has  issued  a circular,  direct- 
ing the  government  to  close  drinking  shops  on  Sun- 
day until  eleven  o’clock.  It  is  due  to  petitions  from 
clerks  and  workingmen  in  different  parts  of  the 
empire  that  these  steps  have  been  taken  by  the 
government. 

Greece.  The  Metropolitan  of  Athens,  and  the 
Director  of  police,  propose  to  introduce  Sunday  rest 
into  this  state,  and,  to  this  end,  have  recently  con- 
voked the  presidents  of  the  different  corporations. 

Norway.  This  is  at  present  the  first  country  on 
the  Continent  in  the  matter  of  Sunday  rest.  Shops 
and  factories  are  closed  on  Sunday,  the  sale  of  alco- 
holic beverages  is  forbidden  from  five  o’clock  Satur- 
day evening,  to  eight  o’clock  Monday  morning.  It 
is  even  forbidden  to  make  bread  after  six  o’clock  on 
Saturday,  and  all  day  on  Sunday,  much  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  bakers  and  their  journeymen.  Vessels 
are  not  loaded  or  unloaded  ; tramways  run  only  after 
twelve  o’clock.  Railway  employees  have  one  Sunday 
free  out  of  three.  There  is  no  delivery  of  letters  at 
Christiania  and  at  Bergen  after  eight  o’clock  on  Sun- 
day morning.  Telegraph  messengers  are  free  for 
half  the  day  on  Sunday. 


300 


SUNDAY  REST. 


Sweden . There  are  but  one  or  two  deliveries  of 
letters  on  Sunday.  A law  passed  in  1891  maintains 
the  ancient  custom  of  not  requiring  work  from  the 
crews  of  vessels  on  Sunday,  except  in  case  of  neces- 
sity. A recent  law  provides  that  tobacco  shops 
should  be  closed  a part  of  the  day.  Public  opinion 
has  made  great  progress  in  this  country  and  in  Nor- 
way on  the  subject  of  Sunday  rest. 

Switzerland.  The  International  Federation  above 
referred  to,  which  has  its  seat  at  Geneva,  is  also  the 
central  committee  for  Switzerland,  and  has  done  a 
great  work  in  awakening  public  sentiment  by  the 
distribution  of  literature,  and  in  other  ways. 

Nearly  all  the  Swiss  cantons  have  laws  to  protect 
Sunday  rest.  They  provide  for  the  closing  of  the 
shops,  and  oppose  work  executed  publicly  and  with 
noise  on  that  day.  Newspapers  are  not  printed  on 
Sunday  in  Switzerland.  In  the  army  Sunday  is  ob- 
served as  a day  of  rest,  except  in  a few  special  cases. 
Federal  laws  guarantee  to  all  workmen  in  factories 
rest  on  Sunday,  except  in  certain  cases,  when  they 
must  have  at  least  every  other  Sunday.  The  work- 
men are  now  asking  that  this  law  should  be  extended 
to  the  small  factories  as  well.  Postal  and  telegraphic 
services  are  reduced  to  less  than  one-half  on  Sunday, 
and  there  are  no  freight  trains  on  that  day.  A rail- 
way recently  built  from  Yverdon  to  St.  Croix  runs 
neither  passenger  nor  freight  trains  on  Sunday. 

The  International  Railway  Conference,  the  regula- 
tions of  which  came  into  force  Jan.  1,  1893,  provide 
that  for  goods  sent  by  slow  trains,  Sunday  is  not  to 
be  counted  in  the  time  allowed  for  delivery  or  for 
their  reception,  when  the  goods  are  brought  to  the 


MISCELL  A NEOUS. 


301 


depots  on  Saturday.  When  they  arrive  at  their  des- 
tination on  Sunday,  they  are  delivered  the  next  day. 
The  stopping  of  the  internal  and  interstate  freight 
trains  on  Sunday  is  optional  for  each  contracting 
state.  These  reforms  make  it  possible  to  close  the 
freight  depots  and  to  discontinue  freight  trains  on 
Sunday  in  the  nine  central  European  states,  which 
have  given  in  their  adhesion  to  the  convention. 

The  Swiss  federal  law  of  June  27,  1890,  which 
went  into  force  Jan.  1,  1891,  gives  to  every  em- 
ployee of  railway,  steamboat,  tramway,  and  posts, 
fifty-two  holidays  annually,  seventeen  of  which 
must  be  Sunday,  under  a penalty  of  from  five  hun- 
dred to  one  thousand  francs  ; and  the  persons  em- 
ployed do  not  have  the  option  of  relinquishing  these 
holidays.  More  recently  a law  has  been  passed, 
which  guarantees  the  same  advantages  to  the  em- 
ployees of  telegraph  and  telephone  offices.  More 
than  thirty  thousand  persons  employed  in  the  public 
service  are  thus  able  to  enjoy  one  day’s  rest  every 
week.  Such  an  example  is  contagious  ; and  the  In- 
ternational Congress  of  Railway  Employees,  recently 
held  at  Zurich,  voted  in  favor  of  such  a law  all  over 
Europe. 

The  above  facts  show  that  the  cause  is  making 
important  progress  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and 
encourages  further  effort.  The  Christian  churches 
of  the  European  Continent  need  to  feel,  like  those 
of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  the  urgent 
duty  of  promoting  the  sanctification  of  the  Lord’s 
day,  in  order  to  obtain  alike  the  security  of  the  rest 
day  and  its  highest  uses.  Especially  is  there  felt  to 
be  need  that  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  on  Sun- 
day must  be  forbidden  or  entirely  restricted,  or  the 


302 


SUNDA  Y REST 


Sunday  will  become  more  and  more  a day  of  ruin  to 
the  body,  to  the  soul,  and  to  the  family. 

The  International  Committee  earnestly  appeal  to 
the  friends  of  the  Sunday  rest  everywhere  for  aid  in 
carrying  on  their  important  and  costly  propaganda. 


THE  PRESENT  POSITION  OF  THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION  IN 
GREAT  BRITAIN. 


MR.  CHARLES  HILL. 


'HE  most  powerful  influence  preserving  the  ob- 


1 servance  of  Sunday  in  Great  Britain  is  undoubt- 
edly the  religious  belief  that  it  is  appointed  by  God 
to  be  kept  as  a holy  day,  free  from  the  toil  and  pur- 
suits which  are  lawful  on  other  days.  This  belief  is 
deep-seated,  and  it  unconsciously  exists  in  the  minds 
of  millions  who  have  never  considered  the  question 
of  Sunday  observance,  and  who  would  probably  de- 
cline to  be  called  Sabbatarians. 

The  teaching  of  fifty  thousand  Christian  ministers 
every  Lord’s  Day;  the  instruction  given  by  half  a 
million  English  Sunday-school  teachers  to  about  four 
million  six  hundred  thousand  children  and  young 
persons  ; the  growing  habit  of  studying  God’s  word 
promoted  by  Scripture  Unions  ; the  many  Christian 
families  where  each  day  is  commenced  and  closed  by 
family  prayer ; the  circulation  of  God’s  word  in  every 
home ; the  diffusion  of  Christian  literature  by  nu- 
merous societies  and  by  Christian  visitors  from  house 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


303 


to  house,  and  by  the  wayside;  and  the  reading  of  the 
Fourth  Commandment  in  the  moral  law  every  Sun- 
day, — are  amongst  the  powerful  influences  still  pre- 
serving in  Great  Britain  the  religious  observance  of 
the  Lord’s  Day. 

In  addition  to  the  religious  forces,  there  are  also 
what  may  be  termed  the  legal  defences  of  the  Lord’s 
Day ; and,  in  countless  cases,  a pound  of  law  is  more 
potent  than  a ton  of  moral  suasion.  But  for  the 
protection  of  English  laws  the  trading  classes  would 
soon  lay  their  grip  on  the  workmen’s  day  of  rest,  for 
money-making  purposes. 

The  capitalists  who  work  the  amusement  industry 
in  England,  an  industry  which  gives  employment  to 
five  hundred  thousand  persons,  and  calls  into  oper- 
ation many  other  trades  as  well,  would  soon  open 
every  amusement  place  on  a Sunday,  were  it  not  for 
the  Statute  21  George  III.,  C.  49,  which  imposes  a 
penalty  of  ^200  on  those  who  open  any  place  of  en- 
tertainment or  amusement  for  money,  or  for  tickets 
sold  for  money,  on  Sunday.  . . . 

The  House  of  Commons  is  a most  conservative 
body  in  respect  to  the  preservation  of  the  Sunday. 
At  every  division,  for  thirty-eight  years,  an  over- 
whelming majority  of  its  members  have  opposed  the 
Sunday  opening  of  the  national  museums  and  pic- 
ture galleries,  on  the  ground  that  the  Sunday  should 
be  kept  as  a day  of  national  rest.  The  following 
have  been  the  divisions  on  the  subject : — 


1855 

For  Sunday 
Opening. 

Against  Sunday 
Opening. 

Majority  against 
Sunday  Opening. 

48 

237 

189 

1856 

48 

376 

328 

1874 

70 

273 

203 

1877 

87 

229 

I42 

1882 

83 

208 

125 

1891 

39 

166 

127 

304 


SUNDA  V REST 


The  petitions  to  the  House  of  Commons  against 
the  secularization  of  the  Sunday  also  indicate  very 
fairly  fhe  state  of  public  opinion. 

From  1872  to  1891  there  were  presented  to  the 
House  of  Commons  5,620  petitions,  with  719,258  sig- 
natures, against  the  Sunday  opening  of  the  national 
museums,  etc.  ; and  161  petitions,  with  80,473  signa- 
tures in  favor  thereof  : showing  a majority  against 
the  Sunday  opening  of  5,459  petitions,  with  638,785 
signatures. 

The  feeling  of  the  working-classes  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  2,412  working-class  organizations  in 
Great  Britain,  having  501,705  members,  supported 
Mr.  Henry  Broadhurst  in  his  opposition  to  the  Sun- 
day opening  of  museums.  In  London,  in  response  to 
the  efforts  of  three  Sunday  opening  societies,  sixty- 
two  working-class  organizations  opposed  Mr.  Broad- 
hurst’s  motion,  and  two  hundred  and  ten  supported 
him.  At  the  Trades’  Union  Congress,  resolutions  in 
favor  of  Sunday  opening  have  been  defeated  on  three 
occasions,  and  on  one  occasion  only  was  a resolution 
in  favor  of  Sunday  opening  carried.  In  1892  over 
two  hundred  delegates  to  the  Trades’  Union  Con- 
gress signed  a memorial  to  the  commissioners  of  the 
Chicago  Exhibition,  expressing  their  hope  that  the 
Columbian  Exposition  would  be  closed  on  Sunday,  in 
view  of  the  importance  of  preserving  Sunday  as  a 
day  of  rest  for  all  classes. 

t Among  the  public  men  of  Great  Britain,  the  most 
eminent  give  their  influence  in  support  of  the  Sun- 
day rest.  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  has  always  opposed 
the  Sunday  opening  of  the  national  museums,  etc., 
in  a letter  to  M.  Leon  Say,  the  French  Minister  of 
Commerce,  in  September,  1889,  said:  — 


MISCELLANEOUS . 


305 


“ It  seems  to  me  unquestionable  that  the  observance  of  Sun- 
day rest  has  taken  deep  root  both  in  the  convictions  and  the 
habits  of  the  immense  majority  of  my  countrymen.  If  it  appears 
to  many  of  them  a "necessity  of  spiritual  and  Christian  life,  others 
not  less  numerous  defend  it  with  equal  energy  as  a social  neces- 
sity. The  working-class  is  extremely  jealous  of  it,  and  is  opposed 
not  merely  to  its  avowed  abolition,  but  to  whatever  might  in- 
directly tend  to  that  result.  Personally,  I have  always  en- 
deavored as  far  as  circumstances  have  allowed,  to  exercise  this 
privilege ; and  now,  nearly  at  the  end  of  a laborious  public 
career  of  nearly  fifty-seven  years,  I attribute  in  great  part  to  that 
cause  the  prolongation  of  my  life  and  the  preservation  of  the 
faculties  I may  still  possess.  As  regards  the  masses,  the  ques- 
tion is  still  more  important ; it  is  the  popular  question  par 
excellence .” 

Lord  Beaconsfield,  the  Conservative  Prime  Minister, 
also  paid  an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  Sabbath  when 
from  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Lords  he  said  : — 

“ Of  all  divine  institutions,  the  most  divine  is  that  which 
secures  a day  of  rest  for  man.  I hold  it  to  be  the  most  valuable 
blessing  ever  conceded  to  man.  It  is  the  corner-stone  of  civil- 
ization, and  its  removal  might  even  affect  the  health  of  the 
people.  ...  It  (the  opening  of  the  national  museums  on 
Sundays)  is  a great  change,  and  those  who  suppose  for  a 
moment  that  it  would  be  limited  to  the  proposal  of  the  noble 
baron  to  open  museums  will  find  they  are  mistaken.1’ 

Lord  Halsbury,  the  Conservative  Lord  Chancellor, 
and  Lord  Selborne,  the  Liberal  Lord  Chancellor,  Mr. 
Broadhurst,  the  distinguished  trades’  unionist,  Mr. 
Benjamin  Pickard,  M.P.,  the  able  leader  of  the  Eng- 
lish miners,  and  many  other  public  men  in  England, 
raise  their  voices  on  the  same  side. 

The  latest  vote  against  the  Sunday  opening  move- 
ment was  taken  in  “ The  House  of  Laymen  ” of  the 
Convocation  of  Canterbury,  on  July  the  5th,  1893, 
when  Sir  Douglas  P"ox,  the  distinguished  engineer 


30  6 


SUNDAY  REST \ 


and  president  of  the  Working  Men’s  Lord’s  Day 
Rest  Association,  moved  a resolution  which  was  car- 
ried unanimously  in  favor  of  Sunday  observance  and 
against  the  Sunday  opening  of  the  national  museums. 

The  Sunday  closing  of  public-houses  is  also  meet- 
ing with  more  and  more  public  support.  At  present 
the  public-houses  are  open  on  Sundays  from  one  to 
three  and  from  six  to  ten  in  England  ; but  in  Scot- 
land, Ireland,  and  Wales  they  are  closed  on  the  whole 
of  Sunday,  except  in  several  great  towns  ; and  the 
Local  Option  Bill  for  the  regulation  of  the  liquor 
traffic,  brought  in  by  Mr.  Gladstone’s  government, 
proposes  to  give  local  authorities  the  power  to  close 
public-houses  on  Sundays,  and,  if  the  ratepayers 
choose,  to  close  them  on  week-days  also. 

Another  encouraging  feature  of  Sunday  observ- 
ance in  Great  Britain  is  the  fact  that  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  not  a single  daily 
newspaper  is  published  more  than  six  days  a week. 

There  are  on  the  Statute  Books  of  England  thirty 
different  laws  for  furthering  Sunday  observance,  dat- 
ing from  1448  to  1887;  and  it  is  an  interesting  fact 
that  the  laws  made  by  King  Alfred  the  Great  were 
commenced  by  that  noble  monarch  with  the  moral 
laws  of  the  Ten  Commandments  ; and  to  this  day 
the  Decalogue  forms  part  of  the  common  law  of 
Great  Britain  : and  whatever  hard  names  are  uttered 
about  these  ancient  laws,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
they  have  exerted  a great  influence  in  helping  to 
hold  up  during  many  centuries  that  public  opinion 
which  still  does  so  much  to  protect  the  masses  of  the 
people  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  day  of  rest. 

But  while  we  rejoice  that  the  Sabbath  is  still 
honored  in  Great  Britain,  while  we  can  still  say  that 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


307 


our  law  courts  and  banking-houses,  our  great  factories 
and  warehouses,  our  offices  and  places  of  amusement 
and  shops,  with  some  exceptions  in  poor  districts,  are 
closed  on  the  Rest  Day,  and  that  the  great  masses 
of  our  population  experience  the  luxury  of  one  whole 
day’s  rest  in  seven,  we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  the 
tremendous  influences  which  are  working  against 
the  Sabbath. 

First  and  foremost  there  is  the  commercial  influ- 
ence,— the  rush  for  gold,  the  intense  competition  for 
custom,  blinding  in  many  cases  all  moral  convictions. 
Railway  companies,  steamboat  companies,  omnibus, 
tramway,  and  cab  companies,  amusement  companies, 
brewery  companies,  publicans,  and  many  others  are 
all  striving,  pushing,  fighting  to  be  foremost  in  the 
race  for  dividends  and  gold.  . . . 

There  is,  we  fear,  a growing  tendency  to  make  the 
Sunday  a mere  pleasure  day.  There  exists  what  has 
been  described  as  “a  spurious  liberalism,”  an  inclina- 
tion on  the  part  of  many  to  grant  unlimited  freedom 
on  Sundays  to  all  traffic  which  ministers  directly  or 
indirectly  to  the  amusements  of  the  people.  . . . 
They  are  not  agreed  which  portion  of  the  day,  they 
are  not  agreed  how  much  of  the  day,  shall  be  thus 
spent ; they  differ  immensely  as  to  the  kind  of  pleas- 
ures to  be  indulged  and  the  kind  of  places  to  be 
opened;  “they  are,”  as  the  late  Recorder  of  London, 
Sir  Thomas  Chambers,  once  said  at  a great  meeting, 
“ on  a slippery  inclined  plane,  and  as  soon  as  they 
begin  to  move  they  will  be  pushed  right  to  the 
bottom.” 

The  movement  in  England,  pushed  so  persever- 
ingly  by  the  various  Sunday  opening  societies,  for  the 
opening  of  public  libraries,  museums,  and  picture  gal- 


30  8 


SUNDAY  REST. 


leries  on  Sundays,  makes  slow  progress.  There  are 
upwards  of  five  hundred  of  these  intellectual  resorts 
throughout  the  country.  After  an  agitation  extend- 
ing over  thirty-eight  years,  Sunday  opening  has  been 
tried  in  about  thirty-six  different  towns.  At  eight 
or  nine  of  these  towns  the  movement  has  been  such 
a failure  that  the  museums  or  reading-rooms  have 
been  closed  again  ; and  there  is  no  stronger  proof 
that  the  Sunday  opening  of  these*  places  is  not  the 
result  of  a public  demand  than  the  fact  that  on  Sun- 
day, when  nearly  the  whole  population  is  free  and  at 
liberty  to  visit  these  libraries  and  museums,  the 
average  attendance  is  less  on  Sundays , in  many  in- 
stances, than  on  the  week-days,  when  the  people  are 
at  their  ordinary  occupations  and  only  at  liberty  in 
the  evenings. 


WHAT  IS  SUNDAY  WORTH  ? 


JOSEPH  COOK , LED. 


HE  sound  of  coming  ages  is  in  my  ears  by  day 


1 and  by  night  as  I study  the  question,  What  is 
Sunday  worth  to  liberty  and  religion  ? By  1910  or 
1920  the  great  majority  of  our  population  will  be  in 
cities  of  eight  thousand  or  more  inhabitants.  The 
population  in  our  cities  has  risen  from  about  one- 
twentieth  of  the  whole  population  to  more  than  a 
fourth,  very  nearly  a third.  Within  the  lifetime  of 
many  there  will  be  more  than  one-half  of  our  popu- 
lation concentrated  in  cities  — a portent  in  our  future, 


MISCELLANEOUS . 


309 


especially  as  municipal  government  is  undoubtedly 
the  blackest  cloud  in  our  sky.  One  hundred  millions 
I expect  to  see  in  this  country,  for  we  shall  double 
our  large  numbers  almost  as  quickly  as  we  doubled 
the  small  ones.  We  shall  never  employ  a standing 
army  to  keep  our  population  in  order.  Shall  we  have 
educational  and  moral  forces  strong  enough  to  resist 
the  Huns  and  Vandals  that  threaten  our  civilization  ? 
Not  unless  we  maintain  Sunday.  Our  barbarians 
come  from  within  our  own  borders,  — they  that  rav- 
aged Rome  came  from  foreign  lands. 

You  say  that  Carlyle  was  pessimistic  when  he  pre- 
dicted that  just  as  soon  as  our  population  becomes  as 
dense  as  that  of  European  countries,  our  form  of 
government  will  not  protect  life  and  property.  At 
what  were  you  alarmed  in  the  railway  riots  of  1877, 
when  ten  American  cities  were  kept  in  order  by 
volleys  of  sharp  shot  ? Without  Sunday  there  can 
never  be  a successful  American  republic.  Give  us  a 
Parisian  Sunday  from  sea  to  sea,  and  in  three  gen- 
erations you  will  need  a Parisian  army  to  keep  the 
Republic  in  order. 

It  was  a famous  saying  of  Charles  Sumner,  “ If 
we  would  perpetuate  our  Republic,  we  must  sanctify 
it  as  well  as  fortify  it,  and  make  it  at  once  a temple 
and  a citadel. ” Voltaire  said,  “ France  needs  God.” 
The  corner-stone  of  safe  republican  government  is 
Lord’s  Day  loyalty.  . . . 

There  are  millions  of  children  and  youth  in  this 
country  who  have  never  seen  the  inside  of  a church 
of  any  denomination,  Catholic  or  Protestant.  They 
are  unchurched  and  without  either  Catholic,  Protes- 
tant, or  Jewish  religious  influence.  They  possibly 
may  hold  the  balance  of  power  in  our  politics  when 


3io 


SUNDAY  REST. 


great  national  questions  are  decided.  They  are  grow- 
ing up  to  make  Sunday  a holiday  ; for  if  Sunday  is  not 
a holyday,  it  becomes  a holiday.  Used  as  a day  of 
recreation,  Sunday  very  easily  becomes  a day  of  riot, 
a day  of  plunder  for  those  who  live  on  the  weak- 
nesses of  their  neighbors,  a day  in  which  the  country 
or  city  raw  youth  degenerates  more  rapidly  than  on 
a day  when  he  is  obliged  to  labor. 

The  church  population  of  this  country,  I believe, 
is  improving  ; but  the  unchurched  population  who  do 
not  observe  Sunday  are  deteriorating  both  in  great 
cities  and  in  the  country  side.  . . . 

Look  at  the  Fourth  Commandment  carefully,  and 
you  will  find  that  it  is  a beam  of  light  that  may  be 
separated  into  seven  distinct  colors.  First,  is  the 
law  of  work  : “ Six  days  shalt  thou  labor.”  Next,  we 
have  the  law  of  rest  : “ The  seventh  day  is  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  Lord  thy  God.”  Third,  we  have  the  law 
of  equality,  or  anti-caste  : “ Thou  shalt  rest,  thou  and 
thy  man-servant  and  thy  maid-servant,  and  the  stranger 
that  is  within  thy  gates.”  An  anti-caste  law  coming 
from  Asia,  the  home  of  the  caste.  Yet  here  it  is  in 
the  Fourth  Commandment.  I confess  to  being  aston- 
ished that  such  an  anti-caste  law  should  come  out  of 
Asia.  Then,  in  the  fourth  place,  you  have  the  law  of 
commemoration,  — a commemoration  of  the  creation 
under  the  old  dispensation  and  of  the  resurrection 
under  the  new.  In  the  fifth  place,  you  have  the  law 
of  divine  companionship.  We  are  to  rest  because 
God  rested.  In  the  sixth  place,  we  have  the  law  of 
periodicity.  This  you  shall  do  one  day  in  seven. 
And  last,  we  have  the  law  of  worship,  of  holy  convo- 
cation. Here  we  have  these  seven  colors  in  this  one 
white  beam  of  heaven  falling  upon  the  earth  to  be 


MIS  CELL  A NE  O US. 


311 

admired  or  not  admired.  The  more  I study  the 
Fourth  Commandment,  the  more  I find  in  it  of  un- 
fathomable wisdom.  The  Decalogue  looks  no  more 
like  human  work  than  the  sun  itself. 


SUNDAY  FOR  ALL. 

BY  ARCHBISHOP  IRELAND . 

SUNDAY  rest  is  a vital  question  from  whatever 
aspect  we  consider  it.  As  a Christian,  I ask 
myself,  What  will  become  of  fhe  world  if  Sunday 
rest  is  obliterated  from  the  land?-  Christianity  is 
not  a mero  profession,  not  a mere  sentiment ; it  is  a 
rational  adhesion  to  the  teachings  of  ,the  Saviour ; it 
is  an  act  of  worship  to  the  Deity  according  to  the 
laws  laid  down  by  the  Saviour.  There  must  be  a 
time  when  we  can  learn  his  teachings,  a time  when 
we  can  worship  as  he  has  prescribed.  Sunday  has 
been  marked  out  by  the  Christian  world  as  the 
one  day  sacred  to  this  noble  purpose.  Six  days  are 
allowed  to  toiling  for  a living  : when  the  seventh 
comes,  let  us  look  upward  to  the  Creator  and  Lord  of 
all  things,  — worship  him,  remember  whence  we  have 
come  and  whither  we  are  going,  and  sit  as  humble 
disciples  to  hear  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Blot  out  the  Sunday,  let  people  on  that  day,  as  on 
others,  think  of  material  things  and  be  given  to  mate- 
rial toil,  very  soon  Christianity  weakens  and  disap- 


312 


SUNDA  Y REST. 


pears.  There  are  many  causes  at  work  diminishing 
the  power  of  religion  ; but  one  is  assuredly  this,  — 
the  loss  of  reverence  for  the  Sunday.  The  Christian 
religion  is  well  able  to  take  care  of  itself  in  the  pres- 
ence of  any  enemy  when  men  are  conscious  of  its 
power  and  know  its  truths  ; but  when  the  opportu- 
nity has  not  been  given  them  to  understand  it,  to 
listen  to  its  precepts  and  its  heavenly  truths,  it  can- 
not live  in  minds  and  hearts. 

The  obliteration  of  Sunday  is  the  proclamation  of 
materialism ; it  is  the  making  of  man  a mere  machine 
to  grind  out  material  wealth.  This  is  the  latest  dan- 
ger of  our  present  civilization.  Every  one  wishes  to 
become  rich  ; and  the  richer  one  is,  the  richer  he 
wishes  to  become,  so  that  employers  and  employees 
seem  to  have  but  one  purpose,  — to  gather  as  much 
as  they  can  of  the  .dust  of  earth.  This  thirst  for 
wealth  hardens  men.  It  takes  away  the  spiritual  and 
higher  life,  without  which  men  are  not  mei>,  but  mere 
beasts  of  burden.  It  scatters  to  the  winds  the  social 
virtues,  without  which  families  and  nations  are  im- 
possible. It  decrees,  as  the  practical  religion  of  all 
men,  the  survival  of  the  fittest  in  the  physical  world, 
which  means,  — let  men  fight  as  best  they  can  for  life ; 
let  them  reign  who  grasp  the  most,  and  let  the  weak 
die. 

Especially  in  favor  of  the  toilers  do  I invoke  your 
aid  to  maintain  Sunday  rest.  The  keynote  of  the 
discussion  of  the  papers  to  which  we  have  listened  is 
the  relation  of  Sunday  rest  to  labor.  I am  glad  that 
the  question  of  Sunday  rest  is  placed  so  emphatically 
upon  this  platform  ; because  if  we  once  have  the  toilers 
of  the  land  deeply  interested  in  the  Sunday  question, 
the  Sunday  is  saved.  It  is  by  their  own  heedless- 


MIS  CELL  A NEOUS. 


313 


ness  they  lose  it;  and  in  saving  themselves,  by  saving 
Sunday,  they  save  society. 

I know  well  that  we  cannot  ask  the  interference  of 
the  civil  law  for  mere  religion’s  sake.  This  consider- 
ation is  often  urged  against  enactments  of  Sunday 
laws.  But  Sunday  is  more  than  a religious  day. 
Sunday  is  the  safety  of  society,  the  safety  of  the 
nation.  Sunday  is  the  inheritance  of  those  who  are 
disinherited  from  the  wealth  of  the  world.  Sunday  is 
the  day  needed  by  the  masses  of  our  people.  On 
this  ground  I appeal  to  our  lawmakers  to  aid  us  in 
preserving  it  from  desecration. 

The  opponents  of  the  Sunday  strive  to  have  us  be- 
lieve that  the  violation  of  Sunday  rest  is  more  or  less 
in  the  interests  of  labor.  When  the  question  was 
agitated  whether  or  not  the  Exposition  should  be 
kept  open  on  Sunday,  the  chief  reason  put  forward 
was  the  interests  of  labor.  It  turned  out  afterwards 
that  sixteen  thousand  men  were  to  be  employed  seven 
days  in  the  week,  so  that  other  laborers  could  visit  it 
on  Sunday.  Labor  is  most  concerned  in  the  sacred  ob- 
servance of  Sunday.  What  is  the  laborer?  A mere 
toiling  machine,  designed  for  no  other  destiny  on 
earth  ? Has  he  no  other  purpose  to  serve  than  to 
twirl  and  twist  the  revolving  wheels  of  the  industrial 
machine  in  grinding  out  wealth  ? Even  if  he  were 
but  this,  rest  is  required  ; for  the  physical  forces  of 
the  laborer  are  diminished  by  constant  toil,  and  the 
experience  of  the  world  shows  that  more  work  can  be 
done  with  less  hardship  on  each  day  when  the  laborer 
works  only  six  days  and  rests  one  day  in  the  week. 
The  Creator  of  man  has  so  fashioned  him  that  he 
must  from  time  to  time  recuperate  his  physical  force. 
But  the  laborer  is  not  a mere  machine.  It  is  not 


314 


SUNDA  Y REST 


only  his  hands  and  his  feet  that  toil.  He  has  thought, 
mind,  intelligence ; and  if  no  opportunity  is  given  for 
the  development  of  his  soul,  his  labor  will  -show  the 
lack  of  the  intelligence  which  stamps  the  fruit  of 
human  toil  and  gives  it  value. 

What  is  the  laborer  ? The  laborer  is  a man,  a 
child  of  God,  an  heir  of  the  eternal  Father.  Man  is 
God's  rational  creature,  put  upon  earth  for  a high, 
divine  purpose  ; and  whatever  interferes  with  that 
purpose  is  a curse,  and  let  it  be  anathema  before 
heaven  and  earth. 

Labor  as  designed  by  Omnipotence  is  noble.  It  is 
the  fulfilment  of  the  divine  law,  “ By  the  sweat  of  thy 
brow  shalt  thou  eat  bread  ; ” and  he  honors  God  and 
honors  himself  who  works  in  one  form  or  another, 
who  makes  in  some  manner  two  blades  of  grass  grow 
where  there  was  only  one.  He  is  a parasite  on 
society,  a useless  creature,  who  lives  on  the  toil  of 
others,  who  works  but  to  amuse  himself.  But  God’s 
best  things  can  be  turned  into  evil ; and  labor,  honor- 
able as  designed  by  God,  becomes  a curse  when  it 
interferes  with  the  high  purposes  for  which  man  was 
created. 

When  the  whole  life  is  one  of  constant  toil,  when 
an  interruption  from  toil  is  the  signal  of  absolutely 
necessary  physical  repose,  is  that  the  life  of  a rational 
being  ? Look  into  the  factories  where  women  and 
children  of  whom  mention  has  been  made  toil  from 
six  in  the  morning  to  nine  and  ten  at  night  every 
day  in  the  week,  and  hardly  take  time  to  snatch  the 
needed  food  and  sleep ! The  heavy  hand  of  the  em- 
ployer rests  upon  these  laborers,  driving  them  down 
into  mere  animalism,  saying  to  the  soul,  “ Thou  shalt 
not  grow.”  God  has  commanded  the  soul  to  expand 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


315 

in  the  open,  clear  atmosphere  of  intelligence  and 
religion,  as  a rosebush  expands  in  the  springtime  ; 
but  no,  — “ work,  work,  work  ! Thou  hast  hands  ; 
these  hands  thou  shalt  alone  employ.  As  for  thine 
intelligence, — what  care  we  for  it?”  Here  labor 
indeed  is  a curse. 

Time,  then,  must  be  given  to  men  to  know  their 
religion,  to  practise  it,  and  to  prove  themselves  chil- 
dren of  God.  One  day  in  the  week  is  an  absolute 
necessity  for  this.  When  society  is  so  constituted 
and  industry  so  organized  that  only  the  well-to-do 
are  permitted  to  serve  their  Maker,  that  toilers  must 
toil  Sunday  as  well  as  Monday,  and  have  no  time  for 
their  spiritual  and  religious  life,  a crime  is  committed 
calling  to  Heaven  for  vengeance.  Let  the  require- 
ments of  industry  be  thoroughly  considered  ; let  us 
recognize  the  importance  of  the  employer’s  interests  ; 
but  let  us  remember  that  nothing  must  be  allowed  to 
interfere  with  the  moral  and  religious  progress  of  hu- 
man souls.  Our  industries  are  too  often  organized 
as  if  religion  were  the  duty  only  of  the  rich,  as  if  the 
poor  toilers,  condemned  to  so  much  suffering  here 
on  earth,  are  to  be  excluded  from  heaven  hereafter, 
— no  happiness  on  earth  or  in  heaven  for  them, 
nothing  but  constant,  continuous  toil  ! 

The  laborer  has  a God-given  right,  from  which  no 
one  can  exclude  him,  to  gather  around  himself  a 
family.  It  is  a duty  imposed  upon  husband  and 
father  by  Almighty  God,  to  give  a portion  of  his 
time  to  wife  and  children  in  loving  and  caring  for 
them.  The  father  must  have  some  time  to  meet 
and  know  his  children.  As  things  are,  the  laborer 
scarcely  sees  his  children  from  the  first  day  to  the 
last  day  of  the  week,  rising  at  six  in  the  morning 


3i6 


SUNDA  V REST. 


and  coming  home  at  nine  or  ten  at  night ; and  then  if 
you  take  from  him  Sunday  no  family  life  is  possible. 
You  destroy  the  family.  When  the  masses  cannot 
maintain  family  life  in  its  integrity,  society  is  in 
danger.  We  complain  because  the  children  of  the 
laborer  rush  out  into  the  streets  amid  all  the  dan- 
gers, because  they  are  not  instructed,  because  they 
have  no  example  of  virtue  and  intelligence,  and  at 
the  same  time  we  uphold  an  industrial  system  which 
compels  the  father  to  be  almost  perpetually  away 
from  his  wife  and  children.  Where  the  father  has 
no  Sunday  to  be  with  his  little  ones,  to  take  them 
by  the  hand,  to  caress  them,  to  bring  them  with  him 
to  church,  to  take  them  with  him  for  a pleasant  walk, 
what  home-life  can  there  be  ? 

Give  Sunday  to  the  laborer,  to  make  him  feel  that 
he  is  a man.  He  feels  not  his  manhood  while  stoop- 
ing beneath  the  weight  of  machinery.  The  hard 
labor  by  which  modern  industries  are  supported  is 
slavery.  Let  there  be  one  day  in  the  week  the  sun- 
rise of  which  says  to  the  laborer,  “ Thou  art  a free 
man  ; thou  art  independent.  To-day,  at  least,  thou 
art  the  equal  of  thine  employer,  the  equal  of  the 
highest  and  richest  in  the  land/’  Let  there  be  a 
day  in  the  week  when  he  puts  aside  the  habiliments 
of  toil,  and  with  a vesture  which,  if  it  tells  of  the 
struggles  with  poverty,  is  at  least  neat  and  tidy,  he 
goes  out  into  the  fulness  of  God’s  sunshine,  looks 
up  to  the  skies,  hears  the  birds  sing,  talks  with  his 
fellows  as  a free  man  ; so  that  when  he  returns  to  toil 
he  will  take  with  him  the  memory  of  a joyous  Sun- 
day, and  will  in  the  midst  of  toil  be  a free  man,  own- 
ing his  own  soul,  knowing  that  he  is  an  independent 
child  of  God,  and  is  entitled  to  the  same  immortal 
destiny  as  the  highest  and  best  of  his  fellows. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


3 17 


It  is  said  that  the  laborer  will  spend  his  Sunday  in 
riotousness  and  in  visiting  saloons.  This  is  calumny 
on  the  toiling  masses.  Some  few  may  do  it  ; the 
great  part  will  not  do  it.  If  some  do  sin,  is  it  not 
because  of  the  severe  tension  to  which  they  have 
been  subjected  during  the  week  ? Let  toil  be  made 
a pleasure,  let  the  toiler  be  not  overburdened  ; and  if 
some  would  be  disposed  to  spend  their  Sundays  in 
saloons  and  in  mere  idleness,  let  us  teach  them  to  do 
differently. 

How  many  thousands  there  are  to-day  in  the  land 
employed  on  railroads  and  in  factories  to  whom  the 
minister  of  religion  can  never  speak,  and  who  con- 
sequently are  cut  off  from  the  influences  of  religion. 
No  wonder  is  it  if  to-day  these  laborers  protest, 
even  with  dangerous  methods,  against  the  pressure 
put  upon  them.  To-day  there  is  danger  abroad  from 
anarchy,  from  lack  of  respect  for  law  and  for  the 
rights  of  society.  How  are  we  to  prevent  all  this  ? 
By  informing  men  ; by  bringing  lessons  of  divine  wis- 
dom within  the  reach  of  all ; by  having  one  day  set 
apart  when  religion  may  fulfil  its  duty  toward  all.  In 
America  public  opinion  reigns.  Employer  and  em- 
ployee of  every  condition,  every  man  and  woman,  is 
a factor  in  forming  public  opinion.  Let  us  speak 
and  act  ; let  us  not  ourselves  do  anything  which 
would  encourage  in  any  way  Sunday  desecration. 
Have  we  not  heard  of  Sunday  railroad  excursions 
given  by  Christians  for  Christian  purposes  ? Do 
not  many  Christians  think  as  little  of  travelling  on 
Sunday  as  they  do  on  Monday,  forgetting  that  they 
are  doing  their  part  to  make  it  necessary  for  a great 
many  men  to  be  employed  on  Sunday  ? Let  each 
one  of  us  observe  Sunday  strictly,  and  do  nothing 


318 


SUNDA  Y REST 


that  would  impose  a burden  upon  others.  Let  us 
do  our  best  by  word  and  by  example  to  form  public 
opinion  in  this  country,  and,  public  opinion  formed, 
all  will  be  well. 

Our  American  Sunday  has  been  our  boast.  It  has 
entered  into  the  traditions  of  our  people.  We  should 
all  rally  around  our  Sunday.  We  should  stand  guard 
in  the  temples  of  Sunday  observance,  and  with  God’s 
help  the  American  Christian  Sunday  will  remain 
undisturbed  in  its  full  force  and  spread  its  blessing 
upon  the  toiling  masses,  upon  the  families  of  the 
nation,  and  upon  our  glorious  Republic. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX, 


INTERNATIONAL  CONGRESS  ON  SUNDAY 
REST. 

CHICAGO,  SEPTEMBER  28-30,  1893. 


COMMITTEE  OF  ARRANGEMENTS. 

William  Wallace  Atterbury,  D.D.,  Chairman. 

John  H.  Hollister,  M.D.,  Vice-Chairman. 

William  J.  H.  Niestadt,  Secretary. 

S.  J.  McPherson,  D.D.,  S.  B.  Lingle, 

Charles  J.  Holmes,  F.  C.  Gehrke, 

P.  S.  Henson,  D.D.,  Frank  M.  Bristol,  D.D., 

Sartell  Prentice,  David  F.  Bremner, 

L.  M.  Heilman,  D.D.,  Martin  W.  Kelly, 

Rev.  T.  N.  Morrison,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson, 

Franklin  MacVeagh,  Charles  G.  Dixon, 

J.  V.  Farwell,  Jr. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

PRESIDENT. 

Major-General  O.  O.  Howard,  U.  S.  Army. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

Hon.  James  R.  Doolittle,  formerly  Governor  of  Wisconsin 
and  U.  S . Senator , Chicago. 

Henry  Wade  Rogers,  LL.D .,Pres.  Northwestern  University . 
Archbishop  Ireland,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Mrs.  Charles  Henrotin,  Vice-Pres . Woman's  Branch  of  the 
Colu7?ibian  Congress  Auxiliary . 

John  Charlton,  M.P.,  Canada. 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

W.  W.  Atterbury,  D.D.,  Chairman . 

Rev.  John  P.  Hale,  Secretary. 

Otis  McG.  Howard,  Treasurer. 

Martin  Kelly,  Franklin  MacVeagh, 

S.  B.  Lingle,  Sartell  Prentice. 


321 


322 


APPENDIX . 


ADVISORY  COUNCIL . 


GREAT  BRITAIN. 


W.  Abraham,  M.P., 

Pentre  Rhondda  Valley, 

England. 

Sir  Charles  Aitchison,  K.C.S.I., 
London. 

W.  A.  Shepherd  Allen,  J.P., 
Stafford,  Eng. 

F.  A.  Bevan, 

London. 

Sir  Arthur  Blackwood,  K.C.B., 
London. 

H.  M.  Bompas,  Q.C., 

London. 

Maj.-Gen.  A.  J.  Bruce, 

London. 

Hon.  Sir  Gainsford  Bruce, 

Q.C.,  D.C.L., 

Bromley,  Eng., 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  of  Liverpool, 
England. 

J.  A.  Campbell,  M.P., 

Glasgow,  Scotland. 

G.  F.  Chambers,  F.R.A.S., 

Eastbourne,  Eng. 
Col.  G.  G.  Channer, 

London. 

Sir  Wm.  T.  Charley,  Q.C.,  D.C.L. 

London. 

G.  B.  Clark,  M.D.,  M.P., 

London. 

Earl  of  Courtown, 

Gorey,  Ireland. 

John  Corey,  J.P., 

West  Cardiff,  Wales. 

Sir  A.  S.  L.  Campbell,  Bart., 

4 Edinburgh,  Scotland. 

Rev.  J.  J.  Cohen,  M.A., 

London. 

Lt.-Col.  Sir  Frederick  Carden, 
Bart.,  Berks,  Eng. 

Capt.  A.  W.  Cobham, 

Eastbourne,  Eng. 

A.  N.  Campbell, 

Edinburgh,  Scotland. 


Rev.  Thos.  R.  Couch, 

London. 

Sir  Joseph  Devereux,  J.P., 

Berks,  Eng. 

Lord  Ebury,  P.C., 

London. 

Gen.  Sir  John  Field,  K.C.B., 

London. 

G.  H.  Finch,  M.P., 

London. 

Sir  Douglas  Fox,  K.B., 

Kingston-on-the-Thames,  Eng. 
Henry  John  Farmer-Atkinson,  J.P. 

Hastings,  Eng. 

Sir  William  and  Lady  Farrington, 
Penhurst,  Eng. 
Sydney  Gedge,  M.P., 

London, 

James  Girdlestone, 

London. 

Vice-Admiral  Henry D. Grant, C.B. 

London. 

Maj.-Gen.  George  Graydon, 

London. 

Rev.  John  Gritton,  D.D., 

London. 

Frederick  Howard,  Esq., 

Bedford,  Eng. 
Joseph  Howard,  M.P., 

London. 

Isaac  Hoyle,  M.P., 

Lancashire,  Eng. 
Maj.-Gen.  George  Hutchinson, 
C.B.,  C.S.I., 

London. 

Col.  A.  M.  Handley, 

London. 

Earl  of  Harrowby,  P.C., 

London. 

Maj.-Gen.  De  Hoste,  C.B., 

Brighton,  Eng. 
Charles  Hill,  Sec.  Workingmen’s 
Sunday  Rest  Assn., 

London. 


APPENDIX. 


323 


Sir  W.  G.  Hunter, 

M.D.,  K.C.M.G.,  M.P., 

London. 

Maj.-Gen.  A.  H.  Heath, 

Dover,  Eng. 

William  Johnston,  M.P., 

County  Down,  Ireland. 
Henry  Kimber, 

London. 

H.  R.  King, 

Sec.  Bookbinders’  Society, 

London. 

Lord  Kinnaird, 

London. 

Earl  of  Lindsay, 

Fifeshire,  Scotland. 
George  Livesey,  C.E., 

Tunbridge  Wells,  Eng. 
Arthur  Mills,  Esq., 

London. 

Donald  Matheson,  D.L.,  J.P., 

London. 

Alexander  McArthur, 

London. 

W.  Lister  Newcombe,  Esq., 

Bournemouth,  Eng. 
Joseph  Polland,  Esq., 

Hitchin  Herts,  Eng. 
Wyndham  S.  Portal,  D.L.,  J.P., 
Hampshire,  Eng. 

Sir  John  Puleston,  M.P. 

London. 

Most  Rev.  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
Ireland. 

Lord  Robartes, 

London. 

James  Round,  M.P., 

London. 

Lt.-Col.  T.  M.  Sandys,  M.P., 

London. 


Samuel  Smith,  M.P., 

Liverpool,  Eng. 
Alfred  Sutton,  J.P., 

Reading,  Eng. 
James  C.  Stevenson,  M.P., 

London. 

Sir  Mark  J.  Stewart,  Bart.,  M.P., 
Wigtonshire,  Eng. 
Martin  Hope  Sutton,  F.R.H.S., 
Reading,  Eng. 

James  Smith, 

Sec.  Metrop.  Tr.  & Lab.  Coun- 
cil, Middleborough,  Eng. 
Lt.-Gen.  John  G.  Touch, 

London. 

Rev.  Peter  Thompson, 

London. 

Isaac  Wilson,  M.P., 

Yorkshire,  Eng. 
George  Williams,  Esq., 

President  Y.M.C.A., 

London. 

Robert  Mackintosh, 

Sec.  Workingmen’s  Sab.  Assn., 
Glasgow,  Scotland. 
Rev.  Frederick  Peake,  LL.D., 
Sec.  Lord’s  Day  Obs.  Society, 
London. 

Benjamin  Pickard,  M.P., 

Barnsby,  Eng. 

Rt.  Hon.  A.  J.  Mundella,  M.P., 
Pres.  Board  of  Trade, 

London. 

Henry  Broadhurst,  J.P., 

Norfolk,  Eng. 
John  Hodge,  Esq., 

Pres.  Trades  Union  Congress, 
Sec.  Smelters’  Amal.  Assn., 

Manchester,  Eng. 


FRANCE. 


Jules  Simon,  Senator, 

Hon.  Pres.  French  Sunday 
Rest  League, 

Paris. 

Leon  Say,  Deputy, 

Pres.  Sunday  Rest  League, 
Paris. 


E.  Cheysson, 

Inspector-Gen.  of  Roads  and 
Bridges,  Vice-Pres.  Sunday 
Rest  League,  Paris. 

Jules  Michel, 

Chief  Eng.  P.S.M.  Railway, 

Paris. 


324 


APPENDIX. 


Louis  Sautter/,  Paris. 

L’Abbe  Gamier, 

Missionaire  Apostolique, 

Paris. 

W.  de  Nordling, 

Ex-Dir.-Gen. 

Austr.  Railways,  Paris. 

A.  Delaire, 

Sec.  Society  of  Social  Economy, 
Paris. 

H.  de  Vilmorin, 

Paris. 

Dubois  LeGentil, 

Pres.  Sunday  Rest  League, 

Lille. 


Edward  Monad,  pastor, 

Marseilles. 

E.  Baumgartner,  Rouen. 

Edward  G.  Thurber,  D.D.,  Pastor 
American  Church,  Paris. 

A.  Gibon, 

Paris. 

A.  Mettetal,  Pastor,  Paris. 

Courtois  de  Vicose, 

Toulouse. 

O.  Prunier,  Pastor, 

Sec.  French  Society  for  Sunday 
Observance,  Paris. 

Jules  Siegfried,  Deputy, 

Paris. 


SWITZERLAND. 


Prof.  Ernest  Naville,  Corres. 
Member  French  Institute, 
Geneva. 

Louis  Wuarin,  Prof,  of  Sociology, 
Geneva. 

Rev.  A.  F.  Buscarlet, 

Lausanne. 

Fred  de  Perregaut,  Deputy, 

Neuchatel. 

Dr.  G.  de  Benoit, 

Pres.  Sunday  Committee, 

Berne. 

Dr.  Dock, 

St.  Gall. 

Rodolphe  Sarasin, 

Mem.  ot  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
Basle. 

Col.  Frey,  Federal  Counsellor, 

Berne. 

Dr.  Adolphe  Bieder, 

Basle. 


Ad.  Haegler,  M.D., 

Basle. 

L.  Pestalozzi,  Pastor, 

Zurich. 


L.  Rod  Ducloux, 

Lausanne. 

Johannes  Ninck,  Pastor, 

Zurich. 

Baron  H.  de  Thieloue, 

Vevey. 

G.  Roller, 

Berne. 

Dr.  A.  de  Schulthess-Rechberg, 

Zurich. 

E.  Deluz,  Sec.  International  Fed- 
eration for  Sunday  Observance, 
Geneva. 

Prof.  Ch.  Galopin-Schaub, 

Geneva. 

Col.  Count  de  St.  George, 

Geneva. 


GERMANY. 


G.  Petri, 

Pres.  Superior  Consistory,  etc., 
Strasbourg. 

Gen.  Count  Von  Bismarck-Bohlen, 
Carlsburg-Zussow. 
Pastor  Weber, 

Munchen-Gladbach. 
Dr.  E.  Von  Wittich,  Prelate, 

Stuttgart. 


Th.  Klunzinger, 

Stuttgart. 

Count  A.  de  Bernstoff, 

Berlin. 

Rev.  Dr.  Stoecker, 

Ex-Court  Preacher, 

Berlin. 


Dr.  Gmelin, 

Stuttgart. 


APPENDIX. 


325 


Prof.  M.  Fischer, 

Miilhausen. 
Prof.  Dr.  Lemme, 

Heidelberg. 


Pastor  Wagner, 

Lohrbach,  Baden. 

Karl  Mez, 

Freiburg,  Baden. 


DENMARK. 


Count  Ad.  Moltke,  Pres.  Danish 
Society  for  Sunday  Observance, 
Copenhagen. 


H.  Westergaard, 

Prof,  of  Political  Economy, 

Copenhagen. 


NORWAY. 


H.  Lehmann, 

Secretary  of  State, 

Christiania. 


A.  N.  Kioer,  Director  of  Central 
Bureau  of  Statistics, 

Christiania. 


CANADA. 


Rev.  W.  D.  Armstrong,  Ph.D., 
Sec.  Lord’s  Day  Alliance, 

Ottawa. 

Prof.  George  Bryce,  LL.D., 

Winnipeg,  Manitoba. 
John  Charlton,  M.P., 

Ottawa. 

Rev.  Dr.  Canon  Hole, 

Halifax,  N.S. 


Hon.  David  Laird, 

Charlottetown, 

P.E.I. 

Sir  Oliver  Mowatt, 

Toronto. 

Rev.  Dr.  John  S.  Potts, 

Toronto. 

Sir  William  Dawson, 

Montreal. 


BELGIUM. 


Baron  Prisse,  Hon.  Dir. 

Antwerp-Ghent  Railway, 

Liege. 


M.  de  Naeyer, 

Brussels. 


A.  Clermont,  Director 

Liege-Maestricht  Railway, 

Liege. 

Kennedy  Anet,  Pastor, 

Brussels. 


HOLLAND. 


Repelaer  van  Driel,  Pres.  Nether- 
lands Sunday  Society, 

The  Hague. 


Dr.  Ph.  H.  Verbeck, 

The  Hague. 


ITALY. 


Rev.  W.  Meille, 

Turin. 

Rev.  Sciareli,  Pozzuoli, 

Naples. 


Rev.  Dr.  Matteo  Prochet, 

Rome. 

Chas.  Zanini,  Pastor, 

Florence. 


RUSSIA. 


Rev.  Pastor  Fehrmann, 

St.  Petersburgh. 
Rev.  Pastor  Crottet, 

St.  Petersburgh. 


Rev.  Khorene-Stepane, 

Archimandrite  Armenien, 

Stazy-Kzim, 

Crimea. 


326 


APPENDIX. 


HUNGARY. 

Prof.  E.  Balogh,  I Prof.  Louis  Csiky, 

Debreczen.  I Debreczen. 

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


P.  M.  Arthur,  Brotherhood  Loco- 
motive Engineers, 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 
Col.  A.  S.  Bacon, 

Pres.  Kings  Co.  Sunday  Pro- 
tective Association, 

Brooklyn,  N.Y. 
Mrs.  J.  C.  Bateham, 

Supt.  Sabbath  Rest  Dept., 
W.C.T.U. 

Hon.  John  Bigelow, 

New  York  City. 
Edwin  C.  Beach, 

Columbus,  Ohio. 

Hon.  E.  H.  Bennett, 

Boston. 

E.  W.  Blatchford, 

Chicago. 

Robert  Bonner, 

New  York  City. 
Edward  Bright,  D.D., 

Editor  Examiner , 

New  York  City. 
Hon.  Joseph  D.  Bedle, 

Jersey  City,  N.J. 
Rev.  W.  D.  P.  Bliss, 

Church  of  the  Carpenter, 

Boston. 

James  M.  Buckley,  D.D., 

Editor  Christian  Advocate , 

New  York  City. 

A.  M.  Burton, 

Pres.  Law  and  Order  League, 
Philadelphia. 

C.  B.  Botsford, 

Pres.  Massachusetts  Sunday  Pro- 
tective League,  Boston. 

E.  F.  Cragin, 

Chicago. 

Joseph  Cook,  LL.D., 

Boston. 

Rev.  Wilbur  F.  Crafts, 

Editor  Christian  States7nan, 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


Samuel  B.  Capen, 

Boston. 

Rev.  J.  F.  Cannon, 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Hon.  L.  S.  Coffin, 

Fort  Dodge,  Iowa. 
Rev.  Henry  K.  Carroll,  D.D., 
Editor  Independent, 

New  York  City. 
Hon.  E.  L.  Fancher, 

Pres.  American  Bible  Society, 
New  York  City. 
Bishop  Cyrus  D.  Foss,  D.D., 

Philadelphia. 
T.  A.  Fernley,  D.D., 

Sec.  Phil.  Sabbath  Association, 
Philadelphia. 
Col.  Franklin  Fairbanks, 

St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. 
John  Fulton,  Mining  Engineer, 

Johnstown,  Pa. 
Samuel  Gompers,  Pres. 

American  Federation  of  Labor, 
New  York  City. 
Hon.  Benjamin  Harrison, 

Indianapolis,  Ind* 
Maj.-Gen.  O.  O.  Howard,  U.S.A. 

New  York. 

Rev.  John  Hall,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

New  York  City. 
Rev.  M.  D.  Hodge,  D.D., 

Richmond,  Va. 
Rev.  S.  E.  Herrick,  D.D., 

Boston. 

Prof.  Alva  Hovey,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Newton  Centre,  Mass. 
Rt.  Rev.  W.  C.  Doane,  D.D., 

Albany,  N.Y. 

Wm.  E.  Dodge, 

Pres.  U.S.  Evangelical  Alliance, 
New  York  City. 
Rev.  A.  E.  Dunning,  D.D., 
Editor  Congregationalist , 

Boston. 


APPENDIX . 


327 


Prof.  Richard  T.  Ely, 

University  of  Wisconsin, 

Madison,  Wis. 
Prof.  C.  C.  Everett, 

Harvard  University, 

Cambridge,  Mass. 
Hon.  Wm.  M.  Evarts, 

New  York  City. 
W.  W.  Hoppin,  Chairman, 

New  York  Sabbath  Committee. 
Morris  K.  Jesup, 

New  York  City. 
Hon.  John  Jay, 

New  York  City. 

Prof.  Herrick  Johnson,  D.D., 
Chicago. 

Bishop  John  C.  Keener,  D.D., 

New  Orleans,  La. 
Rt.  Rev.  J.  J.  Keane,  D.D., 
Catholic  University, 

Washington. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Knowles,  D.D., 

Sec.  American  Sabbath  Union, 
New  York  City. 
Judge  J.  W.  Lapsley, 

Anniston,  Ala. 
Rev.  George  S.  Mott,  D.D., 

Pres.  American  Sabbath  Union, 
Flemington,  N.J. 
Hon.  Levi  P.  Morton, 

Washington,  D.C. 
Rev.  T.  R.  Markham,  D.D., 

New  Orleans,  La. 
Hon.  I.  M.  Martin, 

Little  Rock,  Ark. 
Thomas  N.  McCarter, 

Newark,  N.J. 

R.  R.  McBurney,  Sec.  Y.M.C.A., 
New  York  City. 
Rev.  R.  S.  MacArthur,  D.D., 

New  York  City. 
Col.  E.  C.  Mason, 

Fort  Snelling,  Minn. 
Hon.  S.  J.  R.  McMillan, 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 

Daniel  R.  Noyes, 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 

H.  V.  Ogden, 

New  Orleans,  La. 
Rev.  S.  A.  Ort,  D.D., 

Springfield,  Ohio. 


Rev.  A.  W.  Pitzer,  D.D., 

Washington,  D.C. 
R.  I.  Mallard,  D.D., 

Editor  Southern  Presbyterian , 
New  Orleans,  La. 
Rev.  A.  L.  Phillips, 

Tuscaloosa,  Ala. 
Hon.  R.  F.  Pettigrew,  U.S.  Sen., 
Sioux  P'alls,  S.D. 
Francis  P.  Patton,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Pres.  Princeton  College, 

Princeton,  N.J. 

John  E.  Parsons, 

New  York  City. 
Robert  Treat  Paine, 

Boston. 

Prof.  F.  Pieper, 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Hon.  E.  T.  Phelps, 

Burlington,  Vt. 
Rt.  Rev.  Henry  C.  Potter, 

D.D.,  LL.D., 

New  York  City. 
General  Theodore  Runyon, 

Newark,  N.J. 
Rev.  M.  Rhodes,  D.D., 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Prof.  W.  C.  Robinson,  LL.D., 
Yale  University,  Pres.  Sunday 
Rest  Association, 

New  Haven,  Conn. 
E.  P.  Sargeant,  Grand  Master, 
Brotherhood  of  Loco.  Firemen, 
Terre  Haute,  Ind. 
General  Wager  S wayne, 

New  York  City. 
William  S.  Stryker, 

Adjutant-General, 

Trenton,  N.J. 

Rev.  Chas.  A.  Stoddard,  D.D., 
Editor  New  York  Observer , 

New  York  City. 
Prof.  Philip  Schaff,  D.D., 

New  York  City. 
William  Strong,  LL.D., 

Ex-Justice  U.S.  Supreme  Court, 
Washington,  D.C. 
Rev.  James  Stacy,  D.D., 

Newnan,  Ga. 

J.  D.  Severinghaus,  D.D., 

Chicago,  111. 


APPENDIX. 


328 


Ex-Gov.  E.  S.  Stannard, 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Samuel  Sloan, 

Pres.  D.  L.  & W.  R.  R., 

New  York  City. 

Russell  Sturgis, 

Boston. 

Prof.  A.  Spaeth,  D.D., 

Philadelphia. 

A.  K.  Smiley,  . 

Lake  Mohonk,  N.Y. 

Manly  Tello, 

Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Ell  Torrance, 

Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt, 

New  York  City. 
Rev.  M.  Valentine,  D.D., 

Gettysburg,  Pa. 
Hon.  John  Wanamaker, 

Philadelphia. 


John  W.  Woodside,  Philadelphia. 
Joseph  K.  Wheeler, 

Philadelphia. 

Thomas  Weir,  Supt.  of  Mines, 
Monte  Cristo, 

Washington. 

James  H.  Wade, 

Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 
Joseph  D.  Weeks, 

Editor  American  Manufactu- 
rers and  Iron  World , 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Prof.  R.  F.  Weidner, 

Chicago,  111. 

Bishop  Henry  W.  Warren,  D.D., 
University  Park,  Col. 
Bennett  H.  Young, 

Louisville,  Ky. 

W.  J.  Young, 

Vice-Pres.  Forest  Oil  Company, 
Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


INDEX, 


Accidents  from  overwork 

Activities 

Adjustment 

Agitate  

Administration 

Admirable  Institution 

Altruism  

Alternations  of  labor  and  rest 

Alton  R.  R.  Co.  • * 

Alfred  the  Great 

American  Indians 

Amusements,  legal  control  of 

American  Liberty 

American  Sunday 

Anarchy . . . 

Army  of  children  workers 

Art  museum 

Army  regulations 

Assyrian  rest  day,  how  celebrated 

Atmosphere  insufferable 

Austria,  Sunday  law 

Blile 

Baths 

Bath  furnaces 

Base  ball 

Bathault 

Baccaret 

Baltimore  and  Ohio  R.  R.  Co 

Basis  of  moral  nature  ......... 

Beaconsfield,  Lord 

Belgium  Sunday  observance 

Bible,  knowledge  of 

Bill  for  State  Legislature 

Blood,  oxygenation  of 

Blockades  

Blackstone 

Blunders 

Blanc,  Louis,  speech  of 

Bonney,  President  Columbian  Congress  Auxiliary 

Boston 

Brakemen 

Breathing 

Brown,  E.  N.,  Gen.  Supt.  Mexican  R.  R.  . . 

Brotherhood  of  Railway  Trainmen 

Brutalizing  work 

British  Post-office 

Carlyle,  pessimistic 

Causes  of  disease 

Camille 

Campbell,  G 

Canada  

Cattle,  transportation  of 

Care  for  public 


PAGE 

102 

47,  49 

63 

126 

65 

r37 

35 

.33 

90 

306 

188 

. . . . 200,  202 

274 

3i7 

317 

I39“14i 

284 

213 

267 

*45 

292 

25 

7i 



283 

XI9 

124 

78 

129 

305 

293 

232 

99 

• • • • 3L  32,  38 

80,  84,  87,  89,  91,  99 

20  7 

i44 

2 

5 

201 

95 

37 

94 

. • • 95,  io3>  104 

130 

224 

309 

21,  29 

29 

87 

99 

98,  99 

100 


331 


332 


INDEX. 


Catholic  Church 

Centre  of  Mileage 

Chemical  changes 

Cheerfulness 

Chicago  and  Northwestern  R.  R.  Co 

Chicago  and  Alton  R.  R.  Co 

Child  labor 

Child  abuse 

Children  working  eighty-two  hours  a week,  155; 
Church  and  state,  union  of,  177;  separation  . . 

Christ,  teaching  as  to  intent  of  Sabbath  . . . 

Christian  magnanimity 

Christianity  touches  every  true  interest  . . . 

Chaldean  evidence  of  Sabbath,  242  ; inscriptions 

Cities,  proportion  of  population 

Cleveland,  President 

Club  House 

Clericalism  not  the  enemy 

Candy  factories 

Compulsory  observance  of  rest  day 

Competition 

Conductors,  Railroad 

Co-operation  

Convulsions  from  handling  ccld  iron  .... 

Constant  toil  

Consumption  of  forces 

Constitution  of  United  States 

Constantine,  175  ; famous  decree  of 

Continental  Sunday 

Cook,  Joseph 

Contrasts 

Constrained  attitude 

Commercial  changes 

Colorado  mine 

Corporations 

Coal  transportation 

Conscience,  public 

Craving  for  rest 

Cromwell’s  Sabbatarianism 

Dangers,  dissipation 

Domestics 

Decalogue 

Deluz,  E 

Denmark,  Sunday  observance 

Demoralizing 

Deterioration  counteracted 

Delaware,  Lackawanna,  and  Western  R.  R.  Co. 

Depew,  Chauncey  

Demands  of  material  life 

Disease,  cause  of 

Disease,  resistance 

Diversion 

Diary 

Dogmatic 

Despatch 

Economics 

Economic  truth 

Economic  blasphemy 

Engineers  

End  of  slavery 

Employers,  kind,  just 

Energy 

Eight-hour  system 

Ethical  truth 

Essential  conditions 

Eccessive  labor 


page 



66 



S3 

86 

9° 

X17 , u8,  139-141 

under  age  JJ* 

• . . 178 

- • • • . 261 

264 

204 



308 

3 





- * • • *55 

185,  202 

* * • 67 

95*  9°,  ICO*  103,  104 



M3 

25,  27 

25 

182 

281 

283 

• • 308 

52,  53,  59*  60,  62 

29 

66 

60,  62 

67 

79 

73 

,5° 

J77 

136 

146,  147 

256 

289 

295 

63,  67,  68 

7i 

79 

98 

I3° 

21,  29 

23 

38 

60,  61 

63 

78 

65 

43,  44,  47-49 

48 

96 

132,  133 

138 

53 

151 

43,  44,  46,  47 

29 

. - 32 


INDEX. 


333 


PAGE 

Elevation 54>  ^3 

Extreme  urgency 73 

Exacting  public  82 

Eternal  grind 95 

Executive  Boards 124 

Extra  Sunday  work 143,  *45 

European  Sabbath 249 

Fashion *. 38 

Factories  28,  31,  109,  no,  117,  119,  122,  123,  124,  139,  141 

Family,  germ  of  nation 61,  158 

Financial  success 54 

First  in,  first  out 68,  81,  82,  84,  88 

Fruits 58,  63 

Freight,  70,  71,  75-81,  83,  84,  92  ; transit,  67;-  perishable  ...  79,  80,  85,  87,  98 

France,  176;  one  day  in  ten  of  rest,  176;  its  failure,  176;  Goddess  of  Reason, 

244;  progress  of  Sunday  rest  movement,  296;  army,  297;  deputies,  297; 
industries,  105,  106,  119;  laborers,  107,  108,  in,  114;  Sunday  league, 

113;  windmills  109 

Furnaces 117 

Fourth  commandment 310 

Greed,  danger  of 51,  101,  104,  108,  250 

Grand  truths 36 

Gain 86,  91 

Great  Northern  Railroad 89 

Grand  Trunk  Railroad  Company 94 

Glass  making 12 1,  123 

Gibon,  A 115 

Guardian  angel 132 

Government  labor  200 

Grotius,  opinion  of  Sabbath 241 

Gladness,  Sunday 265 

Golden  words  of  Great  Teacher 269 

Germany,  Sunday  law 291 

Greece . 299 

Gladstone,  William  E 304 

Gompers,  Samuel 8 

Great  Britain,  99;  strong  position  for  Sabbath  observance,  312  ; religious  belief, 

302;  capitalists,  303;  statute  of  George  III.,  303;  House  of  Commons, 
various  votes  on  the  question,  303  ; public  house,  306;  no  Sunday  news- 
papers   . 306 

Heredity 27,  28 

Hanssen,  M 28 

Hays,  Charles  M 83,  84 

Halstead,  W.  F 79 

Half-holiday  148,  149 

Harrison,  President 3,  218 

Health,  30,  38 ; harmonious  organs,  30,  38 ; pocket 38 

Hygienic  views 29,  30,  36,  186 

Heaven’s  rest 49 

Hemlock  forests 53,  54 

Heat  for  casting  1x5 

Henrotin,  Mrs.  Charles  H 8 

History,  Jewish,  leading  of 270 

Hill,  Charles 1502 

Hill,  J 81 

Higher  standards 157 

Hoffmann,  M.  A 28 

Howard,  Gen.  0.0 6,  211 

“ House  of  Laymen  ” 305 

Hostile  conditions 31 

Holidays 46 

Hollow  days 46 

Household  duties 148 

Hudson,  C.  H 90 

Hull  House 157 

Huntington,  Rev.  Wm.  R 279 


334 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Hungary,  Sunday  Law 293 

Holland,  Progress  of  Sunday  Rest  cause,  297 ; Railroad  Employees,  297 ; 

Elections 298 

Impaired  Vitality 23 

Improper  Use  of  Sunday 136,  137 

Illinois  laws  for  women  and  children - 155 

Individual  freedom 202 

Indian  Bureau,  Sunday  Rest 

International  Federation 289 

International  Congress,  27 ; on  weekly  rest,  1;  growth,  2 ; Paris,  290;  Berlin, 

290;  advisory  counsel,  5 ; results 10 

Italy,  slow  progress  of  Sunday  Rest  movement,  298;  congress  of  workingmen’s 

societies,  votes  for  Sunday  Rest 298 

Ireland,  Archbishop 311 

Insanity  33>  34,  35 

Increased  production 

Inspiration 50 

Investigate 54,  59,  64 

Interstate  passage 69 

Illinois  Central  R.R.  Co 84 

Incessant  labor,  slavery 124 

Iron  and  steel  works 1 17-1 19 

Insults  to  wage  workers 145 

Inevitable  drift 135 

Independence  ...... 13 1,  133 

Jews,  Sabbath  keeping,  267 ; entire  home  life  affected,  267 ; sanctifying  power 
of  Sabbath,  268;  means  of  preserving  the  race,  270;  Sabbath  brought 
gladness,  271  ; Sabbath  means  of  intelligence,  271;  acts  of  mercy  . . 273 

Judicial  afterthoughts 195 

Judaism,  Sabbath  in 266 

Joy 48 

Keokuk 100 

Law,  rigor  of,  171 ; Blackstone’s  definition,  174;  appeal  to,  313;  of  periodic 

rest 259 

Lack  of  adjustment 30 

Labor  day 284 

Laborer,  his  rights,  313 ; calumny  on  . . 317 

Lease 51 

Lectures 71 

Lighthouse  of  Hope V 30 

Liquor,  sale  on  Sunday 250 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  217;  order  for  Sabbath  observance 217 

Legislatures,  uniformity  of  recognizing  rest  day,  18 1 ; none  would  dare  do  away 

with  rest  day 197 

Logs 28 

Low  wages 142 

Lord  Mansfield’s  decision 183 

Luther,  teaching  of 253 

Lutheran  confession 253 

Maine  Central  R.  R.  Co 93 

Manufacturing m 

Martin  Furnace 119 

Maximum  of  toil,  83,  87,  153  ; maximum  of  rest * 191 

Machinery 50 

Mason 62 

Mails 77,  99 

Madagascar 159 

Marshall,  Chief  Justice  ; his  interpretation 195 

Macaulay  in  House  of  Commons 210 

Materialism,  proclamation  of . 312 

Medical  Science 21 

Mechanism  of  life,  31 ; mechanical  work 133,  134 

Merchant 56,  57 

Metalworking 115,119 

Mines,  120,  12 1;  mining,  55,  56-58  ; mining  superintendent 57 

Micro-organism 21,  23 


INDEX . 


335 


...  PAGE 

Misers  ,• 

Missionaries ’ ’ ZL 

Minority  interest ] 

Minimizing  alternatives,  64;  minimum,  86,  90,  71,  72,  74,  78;  force  85  * of  5 

labor ’ . \ . iqi 

Military  Academy,  214 ; Sunday  rules,  2 14 ; Divine  service,  215  ; report  of  Board  9 

of  visitors . , 

Mississippi  Valley  R.  R 

Michigan  Central  R.  R . ' 

McClellan,  Geo.  B.,  219;  orders . ...  \ ' 2 

Mohammedans 24° 

Moral  support,  203  ; victories,  1 15  , nature,  basis  of  . . jJ? 

Monday  pay-day • 1 150,  152 

Mohler,  A.  L.  . ,59’ 87 

Mosaic  dispensation 36,  48 

“ Must  break  the  law  or  be  fired  ” 

Mutual  helpfulness  45 

Music 49 

Navy  orders 213 

Nature  and  Revelation,  agreement  of 263 

Nation  days 288 

New  creation  . . . • 160 

Nervous  force,  32,  34 ; strain 140,144 

Nehemiah,  complaint  of 268 

New  settlements 55,  56 

New  agencies  64 

Necessary  work,  59  ; repairs 116 

Nevada 62 

Mew  Mexico 62 

New  York  Central  R.  R.  Co 92 

Nightly  rest  insufficient  25 

Niemeyer,  Prof • 30, 31 

Norwav,  first  place  in  Sunday  observance 300 

North  Western  and  Chicago  R.  R.  Co 86 

Obligations 135 

Obstacles,  silent  and  unnoticed,  280;  State  must  not  meddle  with  Sunday,  281  ; 

machinery,  282  ; differences  of  opinion 283 

Odell,  J.  T 78 

Ohio  Valley  R.  R 92 

Oil  and  salt  water 52 

Old  truths 29 

Overdrafts,  overwork 27,  47 

Oxygen 38,  39 

Pauper  Sunday 46 

Paradox  . . 70 

Passenger  trains 83 

Pagan  and  Christian  civilization 190 

Patent  office 221 

Pastoral  letter 248 

Patriots,  appeal  to 286 

Paulinism 253 

Periodic  rest 21,  23,  24,  36,  118 

Personal  liberty,  58 ; independence 131,  134 

Perishable  freight 69,  78-80,  87,  98 

Pennsylvania  R.  R.  Co.,  75,  76;  lines 79 

Pension  office,  Sunday  observance 221 

Physiological  need  of  the  rest  day '.  . . . 20,  36,  186 

Pharisees,  regulations  of 69,  269 

Pillerkofer 25 

Pitfalls  and  snares 39 

Pleasure  lovers,  dangers  to  the  Sabbath,  49,  283  ; resorts 88 

Plenary  Council,  Third,  248;  second  . . .* 251 

Poor  man’s  day,  the  Sabbath 249 

Portugal 

Pope,  grief  of,  244 ; Pius  IX 2 


336 


INDEX . 


PAGE 

Post-office,  222  ; hours  on  Sunday,  223  ; railroad  service,  223  ; no  Sunday  regis- 
try or  money  orders,  224 ; clerks 99 

Professional  man,  21,  36;  activities 31 

Preventive  medicine 24,  27 

Progressive  decline 25 

Prosperity 54 

Prospectus 55,  57 

Primitive  days ' 70 

Prevost,  S.  M 75 ,76 

Profit 84,  86,  91,  98 

Protest * 103,  104 

Petition 103,  105 

Puritan  Sunday 46 

Pumping  oil 50,  52 

Publican 69 

Public  conscience,  73  ; exacting,  82  ; safety 102 

Questions 73,  74,  100 

Rabaud,  Edouard  29,  33 

Randolph,  Epes 92 

Railway  trainmen,  95,  103,  104;  conductors,  95,  96,  100,  103,  104;  engineers, 

96 ; congress,  Brussels,  293  ; guard  rails 264 

Rabbi  Felsenthal 266 

Raiser  of  fruits 98 

Refrigerator  cars 98 

Resolutions 102,  105 

Recompense 134 

Results  of  child  abuse 141 

Repairs  necessary 116 

Rest  day,  25,  27,  29,  30,  32,  46,  90;  salutary  effects  of,  135;  of  window-glass 
factories,  124;  of  furnaces,  117;  observed,  116;  to  railroad  men,  81,  82, 

86;  appreciated,  88;  preferred,  79,  95;  irregular,  85;  regular,  104; 

metal  works 119 

Rest  day  legislation,  174;  Jewish,  174;  Christian,  174;  Roman,  176;  French, 

176;  English,  177;  American,  twofold  basis,  179;  recognized  as  a con- 
stituent part  of  civilized  life,  incorporated  in  all  the  great  departments  of 
government,  justifiable,  necessary,  184 ; enforcement  not  a new  depart- 
ure, 194;  based  on  religious  obligation,  197;  does  not  infringe  on  con- 
science or  religious  freedom,  197 ; limitations,  198 ; works  of  necessity 
and  mercy,  200 ; freedom  for  all,  200 ; main  object,  203  ; implies  no  union 

of  church  and  state,  209;  chart 25,  26 

Reformation 176 

Reason,,  bar  of 184 

Recent  progress  in  Europe 289 

Resources  65 

Restricted  trains 80,  82-84,  92 

Recoupment 68 

Reciprocal  confidence 

Responsible 58,  62,  101 

Reward  of  Sabbath  rest 52,  53,  59,  60,  62,  115,  119 

Recreation 39 

Rescued  hours 46 

Resistance  of  disease 

Right  to  live 28 

Rochrich,  M.  L 28 

Rocky  mountains  59 

Robertson,  Frederick  W 259 

Russia  : Sunday  rest  law,  299 ; post  offices 302 

Say,  M.  Leon 3>  6 

Saturn 266 

Sabbath  a life-saving  station,  157;  vanishing,  157;  needful  to  home  life,  162; 
twilight,  166;  for  all,  311;  observance,  relation  to  spiritual  life,  229; 
necessity,  230;  time  is  necessary,  23;  place  of,  240;  Protestant  evangeli- 
cal views,  255;  method  of,  262;  threatening  dangers,  279;  ethical  obliga- 
tion, 280;  loss  of  reverence,  312  ; appreciated,  134;  salutary  effects  . . 135 

Saloons 56 

Saturday  half  holiday 47,  148,  149 


INDEX. 


33  7 


PAGE 

Self-interest 44 

Selfishness 49>  I34»  148 

Self-respect 51 

Self-denial  of  railroad  men 104 

Seargeant,  L.  J 94 

Semitic  rest  day  custom 266 

Shops 31 

Shaft 59 

Snares  and  pitfalls 39 

Scotia 60 

Shippers 67-69,  76,  78,  80-83,  86,  89,  90,  91 

Short  season,  long  hours 155 

Source  of  revenue 27 

Social  conditions 36 

Special  study 33 

Speed  and  accuracy 144 

Stamp  of  suffering  32 

Strikes 54,  141 

Stolid  and  stubborn 68 

Stock 98 

Strawberry  car 98 

Stamping  works 153 

Store  women 143 

Stockholders  . 124 

Striking  toilers 152 

Sunday  rest,  90,  73,  118,  295;  schools,  53,  56 ; work,  59,  61 ; salutary  effects  of, 

135 ; appreciated,  134  ; dissipation  worse  than  toil,  250 ; how  keep  it,  279 ; 
hedged  about,  280;  binds  the  nation  as  a unit,  288;  not  to  be  swamped, 

289;  progress  of,  in  Spain,  295;  in  Sweden,  300;  crime,  193;  no  longer 
an  open  question,  208;  public  sentiment  sound  to  the  core,  209;  in  public 

service,  21 1 ; mail  delivery,  how  stopped  225 

Spain 295 

Sweden 300 

Switzerland,  laws  of  cantons,  300  ; centre  of  influence  for  Sunday  observance, 

300;  federal  law 301 

Supreme  Court  of  California,  192  ; decision  overruled 193 

Survival  of  fittest ...312 

Sunday  newspapers 237 

Sumner,  Charles 309 

Talmud,  260 ; prohibitions 269 

Tendency  of  every  trade 153 

Ten  words  of  Sinai 286 

Telegraphers 96,  102-104 

Toleration 63 

Toucey,  John  M 77 

Toilers,  appeal  to 3x2 

Turnpikes 64 

Traffic,  69,  71,  80,  81,  85-87;  can  be  stopped 93,  97,  101 

Trade  relation 72 

Transportation,  96  ; of  coal 79 

Trainmen  95,  103,  104 

Trying  on  gloves 144 

Twenty-mile  walk 140 

Traditional  law 268 

Truce  of  God 285 

Ultimate  result 36 

Uniform  mechanical  labor,  133  ; effect  of 133 

Utah 62 

Unwise  customs 24 

Unthinking  employer 35 

Union  of  church  and  state 177,  209 

United  States  Military  Academy 212 

Vacations,  38 ; forfeited 144 

Voltaire 309 

Voit 25 

Vigorous  vitality 23,  24 


338 


INDEX . 


PAGE 

' Vital  forces 23,  33 

Vacations 38,  144 

Vicious 62,  63 

Vandalia  Line 82 

Van  Winkle,  J.  Q 81 

Wage  earners 61,  204 

Wave  of  strength 25 

Washington’s  farewell  address 210 

Wanamaker,  John 222 

Water-courses 109 

Wetherbee,  J 103 

What  to  do 97,  99,  101 

Weekly  rest  day  and  good  morals,  191  ; social  benefit,  191  ; duty  and  promise  of 

government  to  maintain  it,  206  ; origin 255 

Wealth,  thirst  for 48,  312 

Windmills 109 

William  I.,  Germany 3 

William  II.,  Germany 4 

White  Button  movement 95 

Workingmen  of  France 107,  108,  111,  1x4 

Woodbridge,  Alice 138 

Working  pressure 34 

Women,  standing,  injurious 143 

Women  in  factories 142 

World’s  Congress  Auxiliary 1 

World  wide  experience 48 

World’s  day,  the 254 

Worth  of  Sunday 308 

Wound  up 77 

Way  departments 69 

Wood,  Joseph 79 

Wabash  R.  R.  Co 83,  84 

Window-glass  factories 122,  123 

Young  Men’s  Christian  Association 70 

Your  enemy 


